Shakespeares Sonnets (Hardcover)  | Released: 2006

Though sonnets are, generally, easy poems, Shakespeares sonnets are not, and very naturally, he being a master-mind, his sonnets are far from easy to understand. The principal objective of this book is to explain the sonnets for common readers, and to discuss some very topical questions about them. The author persistently kept in mind the difficulties of general readers in understanding the sonnets, and so he meticulously avoided pedantry. The book may be deemed to be divided into two parts : the first part discusses some very important general topics relating to the sonnets; and the second part devotes itself entirely to explaining, line by line, the sonnets, keeping close to the themes of them. Difficult words and concepts have been carefully explained. The texts of all the 154 sonnets have been given for the benefit of readers.Table of Contents: 1. Shakespeare : Life and Works 2. What is Sonnet? 3. The History of the Sonnet 4. The Elizabethan Sonnetry 5. Shakespeare and the Sonnet 6. The Themes of Shakespeare's Sonnets 7. The Identity of the Fair Youth (or Mr. W.H.) of the Sonnets 8. The Identity of the Dark Lady of the Sonnets 9. Are the Sonnets Autobiographical ? 10. Criticisms and Appreciations of the Sonnets 11. The Sonnets Explained (with the Texts) 12. Index of First Lines of the Sonnets Bibliography Index