William Shakespeare’s Literary Legacy: Sonnets and Plays
William Shakespeare’s Literary Works: Poetry and Drama
William Shakespeare is renowned for his profound contributions to poetry and drama, establishing himself as the most significant poet to have written in English.
Shakespeare’s Poetry
Shakespeare’s poetic output can be broadly classified into four non-dramatic short poems and his celebrated Sonnets.
The Sonnets
The English, or Shakespearean, sonnet form was first developed in England by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. Shakespeare’s sonnets, once a source of scandal, are now subjects of intense scholarly interest. There has perhaps never been a better time to delve into their rich complexities.
The exact period of their composition remains unknown. They may have been written during a brief, intense burst of productivity while London theatres were closed because of the plague, or they could have been refined throughout his career.
A Shakespearean sonnet consists of 14 lines, typically structured into three quatrains and a final couplet, following an abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme.
Structure and Dedications
The collection comprises 154 poems, traditionally divided into two main groups:
- Sonnets 1–126: These explore Shakespeare’s passionate relationship with a young male friend.
- Sonnets 127–152: These are addressed to the enigmatic “Dark Lady,” often interpreted as Shakespeare’s mistress.
- The final two sonnets (153–154) are dedicated to Cupid.
Themes and Interpretations
The relationship depicted in the first group of sonnets, between Shakespeare and a young man, has led many academics to explore biographical readings, often suggesting a homosexual relationship and relating the content to Shakespeare’s life and experiences.
In addressing the “Dark Lady,” Shakespeare introduces an element of originality by portraying a common woman rather than the idealized, divine figure prevalent in traditional Petrarchan sonnets. This departure challenged conventional poetic norms of his era.
The sonnets, as they are ordered, do not necessarily present a continuous narrative or internal connection. Their numbering does not imply a chronological or thematic link between individual poems.
Key Themes in the Sonnets
- Time: Shakespeare frequently explores the passage of time, the desire to reclaim the past, control the present, and combat time’s destructive effects. The tyranny of time is a recurring motif. The first seventeen sonnets, in particular, emphasize procreation as a means of defying time’s impact. Time is often presented negatively, linked to life’s deterioration, yet it is intimately connected with love, with an underlying intention to overcome temporal limitations.
- Desire: As suggested by the opening line of Sonnet 1, “From fairest creatures we desire increase,” there is an inherent human desire to perpetuate beauty. Desire is a crucial theme, reflecting Shakespeare’s perpetual quest for self-improvement and literary excellence. He sought to articulate the ultimate experience of love, often expressed through sexuality and desire.
- Language of Sexuality: A distinguishing feature of Shakespeare’s sonnets, compared to other collections of the period, is their frankness regarding sex. Several poems contain explicit references to sexual organs and activities, reflecting a connection to physical experience and sexuality as a fundamental expression of human love.
- The Sonnets as Theatre: The sonnets frequently employ theatrical metaphors and connotations. They explore the recreation of the lover’s image, often presented in terms of spectacle, performance, and disguise. This theatricality reflects Shakespeare’s deep involvement with the stage, not only as a writer but also as an actor and theatre practitioner.
Shakespeare’s Drama
A total of 38 plays are generally attributed to Shakespeare, including The Two Noble Kinsmen, which was a collaboration with John Fletcher. New academic research occasionally attributes additional texts to him.
The plays published in the First Folio were categorized into three genres: Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies.
Classification of Shakespeare’s Plays
E. Albert’s classification provides a useful framework for understanding Shakespeare’s dramatic evolution:
Early Comedies
Plays like The Comedy of Errors were written during the initial stage of his dramatic career.
The English Histories
Comprising 10 plays, these works depict events and periods from English history. Shakespeare drew upon past kings, eras, and events to create plays that, while historical, also served to critique the social, political, and economic conditions of his own time, suggesting ways for future improvement.
First Tetralogy
Includes the first, second, and third parts of Henry VI, and Richard III. King John is not part of this tetralogy.
Second Tetralogy
Comprises Richard II, the first and second parts of Henry IV, and Henry V. Henry VIII is not included in this tetralogy. Shakespeare often adapted historical timelines to suit his dramatic purposes, prioritizing thematic impact over strict chronological accuracy.
The Mature Comedies
Plays such as The Merchant of Venice were written during his more developed period.
The Dark, Sombre, or Problem Plays
Works like Measure for Measure fall into this category. These plays are characterized by a pessimistic tone, questioning life’s complexities and often presenting a darker, more negative perspective.
The Great Tragedies
This iconic group includes Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, and Macbeth.
The Roman Plays
Examples include Julius Caesar, Coriolanus, and Antony and Cleopatra. These plays underscore the significant influence of classical culture and literature during the English Renaissance. Shakespeare utilized Roman and classical history with similar political and social intentions as his English histories, reflecting on the contemporary social, economic, and political landscape.
The Last Plays / Romances
Written at the very end of his dramatic career, plays like The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale are often termed “romances.” This classification stems from their characteristic elements: natural landscapes, supernatural occurrences, heroic figures, and narrative patterns reminiscent of medieval romances, rather than solely focusing on romantic love.
Publication and Attribution
Upon Shakespeare’s death in 1616, only fourteen of his plays had been printed in quarto editions. Seven years later, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell compiled and edited the First Folio, which included all his plays except Pericles.
The quartos are considered some of the earliest authoritative texts of the plays. Beyond the 38 plays in the established canon, more works have been attributed to Shakespeare, including lost plays and collaborations with other writers.
Lost Plays
Cardenio, a collaborative work between Shakespeare and Fletcher, is an example of a lost play for which no manuscript has survived.
Collaborative Plays
Shakespeare collaborated on numerous plays that were either excluded from the First Folio, remained anonymous, or were attributed to other writers. Notable examples include Sir Thomas More, The Spanish Tragedy, and Edward III.