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Shakespeare's Sonnets & Poems | William Shakespeare

Shakespeare
Library book bin

Gissy So 😍 8mo

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AvidReader25

Shakespeare's Sonnets & Poems | William Shakespeare

I had so much fun, exploring the Lilly Library‘s Shakespeare exhibit in Bloomington, Ind. “Four Hundred Years of the First Folio: Celebrating the Works of William Shakespeare” included a first folio edition, and so many more beautiful pieces. There were illustrated copies, examples of Shakespeare, in present day, pop-culture, and more! There was info about early performers of Shakespeare‘s work, & one of their connections to the Bethesda Fountain!

IndoorDame Stunning!!! 9mo

dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 9mo

AvidReader25 @IndoorDame @dabbe They were breathtaking! 9mo

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IndoorDame

Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

TheSpineView Love Shakespeare! Great choice! 1y

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erzascarletbookgasm

Shakespeare's Sonnets & Poems | William Shakespeare

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I‘ve been dipping in and out of these sonnets in leisure, (and in mood), sometimes listening to Patrick Stewart‘s recitals, other times reading the text then with the help of a reading guide. In such a concise structure with fixed pattern verses, so much emotional depth can be found, it just amazes me. I don‘t understand them all or enjoyed each of them, but the rich language, and wit of some of them are a pleasure to read and return to in future.

erzascarletbookgasm #shakespearereadalong Thanks for leading @GingerAntics sorry I‘ve been a terrible group member. 2y

Graywacke Great post, and congrats on finishing 2y

Cathythoughts Beautiful review Jessie ❤️ 2y

batsy Wonderfully put! The sonnets are a total experience. So glad we did this group read 💚 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

so-so

I‘m not generally a poetry reader, so this was tough, but I‘m glad to have made my way through all 154 of the sonnets and added another post-it in my complete Shakespeare! A few caught my attention, some were more interesting after seeing other readers post about them, and several I just read through.

#ShakespeareReadalong #poetry #audiobook

Daisey @TheBookHippie @MrsMalaprop @batsy @GingerAntics @Graywacke Thanks so much for posts and comments that kept me reading! 2y

charl08 👏👏This reminds me I need to get back to my sonnet reading - I only made it half way! 2y

Suet624 Wow! Fantastic accomplishment. 2y

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Daisey @charl08 I set it aside in the middle a few times, but decided just over a week ago that it was time to power through the rest. @Suet624 Thanks! 2y

TheBookHippie Yay!!!!!! ♥️♥️♥️♥️ 2y

MrsMalaprop 👏👏👏😊 2y

batsy 🙌🏾💕 2y

GingerAntics Yeah, if you haven‘t found other poetry you can get into, this is probably not the place to start a poetry reading habit, honestly. 2y

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batsy

Shakespeare's Sonnets & Poems | William Shakespeare

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Wading through the murky depths of Shakespeare's psyche is like staring into the abyss & having it stare back at you. Not for the faint-hearted, & for this reason I'm so glad to have had the company of the #ShakespeareReadAlong gang as we made our way through the 154 sonnets, in the capable hands of our guide @GingerAntics . I've always known it was about "love" but the sequence of sonnets is divided between those written to a young man & a woman.

batsy I'm partial to the ones written to the young man, which form the majority of the collection. You feel the full breadth & depth of Shakespeare as a person in those sonnets; the charming bits, the tender bits, & the ugly bits. The "Dark Lady" sequence itself becomes repetitious; dredging up Shakey's own lack of self-worth that seems disturbingly predicated on the lady's virtue (& her supposed lasciviousness) & the "dark" features of her appearance. 2y

batsy All in all, these sonnets are a fantastic workout for the brain & I feel that I will return to the individual poems at different points. Both linguistically & philosophically varied & compelling. Sadly I couldn't get a physical copy in the edition I wanted in time for the group read, but the Folger edition (available on Kindle) was very good, with helpful notes. Thanks for the discussions @Graywacke @MrsMalaprop @TheBookHippie 2y

Graywacke Kudos @batsy ! Great post. Maybe we all need an easier read next. 2y

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MrsMalaprop 👏🙌❤️ 2y

TheBookHippie This was a fantastic synopsis and I agree I stretched my brain!!! 2y

batsy @Graywacke @MrsMalaprop @TheBookHippie Thank you all for a good time! 🥰 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

We‘ve come to the end of our journey. How is everyone feeling? That was A LOT in 7 weeks. It was certainly an adventure. Any favourite sonnets that stood out, or theories about the collection you‘d like to share?

GingerAntics @readinginthedark @batsy @Lcsmcat @TheBookHippie @Sunraven @Trashcanman @IamIamIam @ladyneverwhere @MoonWitch94 @catebutler @CoffeeNBooks @jewright @saresmoore @rabbitprincess @Balibee146 @kathedron @Mtroiano @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MrsMalaprop @Gezemice @cuilin @erzascarletbookgasm 2y

GingerAntics @Melismatic @Sace @teainthelibrary @Susannah @kristenm @slategreyskies @Panic70 @Carolyn11215 @Alliterati @Kristy_K @Liz_M @Daisey @mhillis @Wife @wanderinglynn @Jess_Read_This @Linsy @MellieAntoinette @Yoshi-and-a-book @mollyrotondo @greenreads @LitStephanie @MehoLovesReading @vlwelser 2y

Graywacke It was an adventure. Thanks @GingerAntics for pacing us and keeping these posts up. My favorites are 18 and 60 (? - the one on the ripples) In this last section I felt less engaged, but I liked the anti-Petrarch aspect. And there‘s one on his soul (with an unfortunately corrupt line 2) that I found interesting. And I like the last two and their play on Greek mythology. 2y

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Graywacke I think my favorite couplet is Sonnet 65 lines 3&4: How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea, Whose action is no stronger than a flower? 2y

MrsMalaprop Thanks @GingerAntics 🙏. I really enjoyed this deep dive into the sonnets. It stretched my brain. I learnt so much about the sonnets and the Bard. He was a flawed, talented man. Who‘d‘ve thunk it 🤷‍♀️😉. 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke @MrsMalaprop I‘m so glad you both hung in there. I think there are a few others that are still finishing up. The sonnets are so different from the plays, they definitely do stretch the mind. 2y

batsy Thanks for keeping us going @GingerAntics ! Like others have said, I felt like my brain has been stretched in ways I didn't know it could stretch ? I love that via the repetition of love and lust he explores deep philosophical conundrums. "A god in love, to whom I am confined"—sonnet 110 sticks in my mind because of this line. I was also less enamoured of the Dark Lady sequence of poems, probably because it seemed more nihilistic/cynical. 2y

GingerAntics @batsy the dark lady seems very cynical to me as well. 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

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I did it. All 154 sonnets, read over the past 7 weeks. I got a little ‘advantage‘ in the end with one of my sons getting Covid. It has meant we are all stuck at home this week.

Thank you for hosting @GingerAntics & for sharing my enthusiasm @Graywacke @batsy @TheBookHippie

But now what will I do with my time? 🤔😆

Graywacke Congrats! 💙 … and I wish your son well, and also the rest of your quarantining family. I have some ideas, if you‘re looking for a book. 😂 2y

MrsMalaprop @Graywacke 🤣 2y

TheBookHippie Sending healing vibes! It has been so much fun reading these! 2y

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CarolynM I‘ve enjoyed your Sonnets posts🙂 Hope your son is soon well and the rest of you avoid it. 2y

Jeg 👏👏👏👏👏 2y

batsy Woohoo! I've enjoyed reading along with your posts 💕 Hope your son recovers well. 2y

erzascarletbookgasm Lovely copy. I enjoyed seeing your posts on the sonnets. 2y

GingerAntics I love that your nails match! 😆 2y

Rissreads 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

Sonnet 148. I like this one about the madness or rather the blindness of true love ❤️.

Apologies for my prolific posts. I‘ve almost finished the
#shakespearereadalong #sonnets
along with these crazy cats
@batsy @GingerAntics @Graywacke @TheBookHippie

batsy 😸 2y

TheBookHippie ♥️ 2y

GingerAntics Cats do make everything better! Do your cats seem to have opinions on some of the sonnets like the cat of @Graywacke? 2y

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Graywacke @GingerAntics lately he‘s left me to read these on my own. 😕 fickle 🐈‍⬛ 2y

MrsMalaprop @GingerAntics 😹I was speaking figuratively. You all are the ‘crazy cats‘ taking this deep dive into the sonnets with me 😍🙏. I have enjoyed it so much! @Graywacke @batsy @TheBookHippie (edited) 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop I‘m not here yet, so this is my first look at this sonnet and I love it. Blinded by tears. Congrats on almost completing this pass through! 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop it‘s an apt metaphor for us doing this. 🙂 2y

TheBookHippie @MrsMalaprop 😂😂♥️♥️♥️♥️It has truly been so much fun. 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke that‘s a cat for ya! 2y

GingerAntics @MrsMalaprop I will totally be your sonnet cat!!! 🐈 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

😏 Really Shakespeare? 🐥👶

So you feel like a neglected child? If the shoe fits…

Even Patrick Stewart couldn‘t bring himself to read this one #sonnetaday #shakespearereadalong #sonnets

@batsy @TheBookHippie @GingerAntics @Graywacke

batsy Ahahaha! I just read this one earlier and thought poor Shakespeare was really down bad. 2y

TheBookHippie I read this as pay attention to MEEEEE. Like he‘s having a fit. 😆 Patrick was wise to leave it be. 2y

GingerAntics First off, how on earth did you find out Sir Patrick wouldn‘t read this one? That is beyond hilarious. Second, I remember “Will” being capitalised in the couplet being important. It‘s Shakes referring to himself (in the third person it would seem). Perhaps after the death of Hamnet, Anne dealt with her grief by focusing on her remaining children or her household concerns, and Will felt a little neglected, causing him to pen this sonnet. 2y

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GingerAntics Can you imagine Anne‘s eye roll when she read this one?! 😂🤣😂 2y

Graywacke @GingerAntics Pelican suggests there were two Wills, and the meaning is then four-fold - will, Will Shakespeare, the other Will she‘s chasing after, or, well, Will‘s thingy…his will. 🙂 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop Oh, I don‘t mind this one so much. He‘s just doing a literary fetal position…but with sexual implications. 🙂 But i do feel his poems chasing after the young man are far more appealing. These sound like clever avoidance to love, the anti-Petrarch, like Ovid‘s Amores, whereas those sounded more about actually liking something. 2y

MrsMalaprop @GingerAntics I have watched Sir Patrick read almost every sonnet in his #sonnetaday where he read them out in order during Covid lockdowns. There were a number that he missed. Sometimes he would comment and say, “Oh, I don‘t like that one so I‘m not reading it.” But with this one he just skipped it without comment! (edited) 2y

GingerAntics @MrsMalaprop WOW!!! 😂🤣😂 that sounds so very like him “I don‘t like this one. I‘m not reading it.” 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke Will‘s Willy, if you will? 😏 I knew I was missing a turn there. Thanks for reminding me. 🤣😂🤣 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

Sonnet 141 #shakespearereadalong #sonnets
As the Dark Lady sonnets progress we hear about her flaws. He critiques her appearance, her voice & even her smell! “But ‘tis my heart that loves what they (his eyes) despise”.
Not the kind of love poem I‘d want written about me. Did she read them? If so, how did she respond 🤔? And as for smell, I don‘t want to think too much about the smells in the 1590s.

@GingerAntics @Graywacke @batsy @TheBookHippie

batsy If the lady was getting sonnets like this one, it's no wonder she felt she had to cast her net wide, so to speak! She'd need to boost her self-esteem elsewhere. No but honestly, I do wonder if she read them and how, if so, she would have responded... 2y

TheBookHippie I kept thinking of the lyric I don‘t like you but I love you 🤷🏻‍♀️😂 and oy the smells 😅 2y

GingerAntics Loved illustrations! 2y

Graywacke Yeah, those smells… I got this idea in my head that he‘s writing about a common prostitute he got attached to, and I can‘t seem to shake that idea. It seems to fit. (And, yeah, not a wooing poem!) 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke that fits for sure! 2y

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jenniferw88

Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

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4 ⭐

#pop22 #abouttheafterlife as several are about the poems surviving long after the muse/he is dead. @Cinfhen @Cortg @Kalalalatja @4thhouseontheleft @Megabooks @KarenUK @Laughterhp @RaeLovesToRead @squirrelbrain

squirrelbrain Good choice! 2y

Cinfhen Well played 2y

Cortg Great idea! 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

I‘ve been a terrible leader the last two weeks. I promise to do better. How is everyone doing with their adventures through Shakes‘s sonnets?
#Shakespeare #Sonnets #Poetry #shakespearereadalong #Joetry2022

Graywacke We crossed over from love sonnets addressed to the young man to those addresses to the unconventionally dark lady with black eyes. I‘m seeing the narrative. It feels like WS needed something off convention to spark his Sonnets. I like the anti-Petrarch aspects and I loved is deranged compression of contradictions on lust in 129. 2y

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GingerAntics @Graywacke he certainly does have a convoluted inner life coming through in these. I still think the death of Hamnet plays some roll here. 2y

batsy It does feel like his switch to the Dark Lady helps him regain his autonomy again, or his spark, maybe. Though thus far these particular ones addressed go the DL are keeping me at a distance. I'm particularly fond of 123, where he basically rants at Time. 2y

MrsMalaprop As my posts attest, I am digging it. The harder I work at it, the more I get out. The repressed English teacher in me is feeling affirmed. 😁 2y

Graywacke @batsy regains his autonomy? I need think about that. …also I liked his rant at time a lot. 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop I‘m enjoying your “repressed teacher” posts! 😂 (edited) 2y

MrsMalaprop @Graywacke yup! Decided I was going to be a high school English teacher but all my teachers at the time discouraged it 😔. Then I discovered school psychology 💡. 2y

batsy @Graywacke Yeah ... No. I just read sonnets 133-135 and I take back what I said 😆 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop interesting! I‘m glad you found a good role. 2y

GingerAntics @MrsMalaprop oh good! 2y

GingerAntics @batsy @Graywacke I do love the rant at time! I think it‘s something we can all relate to. 2y

GingerAntics @batsy 🤣😂🤣 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

I‘ve hardly been reading the sonnets at all the last couple weeks, so I‘m trying to start back to them again. Daily poetry is definitely a struggle for me, but I hope to read each day this week so I can catch up a bit and finish this month. I‘ve enjoyed going through other readers‘ posts this morning for the ones I‘ve read or am about to get to.

#ShakespeareReadalong #poetry #BookAndBreakfast

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

I like to call this one
‘Shakespeare Keeping It Real‘.
It‘s one of my favourite #sonnets. I remember studying it at school.
I am for some reason reminded of the Bruce Springsteen lyric,
“You ain‘t a beauty, but hey you‘re alright”
😉
#shakespearereadalong
@batsy @TheBookHippie @Graywacke @GingerAntics

Graywacke That Bruce Springsteen lyric comes to my mind too! I‘m adjusting to this lady. 2y

Leftcoastzen Thunder Road is one of my favorite poems!😀 2y

jenniferw88 This is the sonnet I used to have memorized by heart! 2y

MrsMalaprop @jenniferw88 that‘s cool. It‘s a wonderful sonnet 😍. 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

And so ‘the dark lady‘ enters the fray. Sonnet 127. #shakespearereadalong #sonnets

@TheBookHippie @Graywacke @batsy @GingerAntics

TheBookHippie I just love it!!! 2y

Graywacke It‘s such a striking sonnet opening to this section. No false borrowed face - he likes the natural look. 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️#SHAKESPEAREREADALONG

I got in a weee bit of trouble translating this as foreplay in teenage writing papers me😂🏆

MrsMalaprop, batsy, Graywacke, GingerAntics

Graywacke It‘s 🔥! 🙂 2y

MrsMalaprop Go Will! That is a bit saucy 🔥🧯😘😂. 2y

batsy 🥵 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

Sonnet 126 was the final one written to the ‘fair young man‘. Hard to believe the relationship was platonic as some have suggested; close relationships between men that were not romances apparently being a thing at the time. What do others think?
And what about the different rhyme scheme & only 12 lines? Maybe it‘s to signify the end of these particular sonnets 🤔.

#shakespearereadalong #sonnets

@GingerAntics @batsy @TheBookHippie @Graywacke

batsy Yes, was wondering about the 12 lines! And I don't know if it's because we're so 21-st century 😅 but it's really hard for me to read the relationship as platonic. Throughout some of sonnets there's an undercurrent of eroticism, and sexual possessiveness—I feel like it might have started out platonic, with Shakespeare complimenting the youth's beauty as an appreciator of beautiful things, then it got way complex and twisty. #MyIdeaForANetflixDrama 2y

TheBookHippie @batsy it‘s lust!!! That‘s my 17 year old opinion in my school notations 🤣 2y

TheBookHippie @batsy yes for Netflix drama and yes he was attracted to him I think! 2y

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Graywacke @TheBookHippie sounds right to me! 2y

Graywacke If there were no women in theater, then what can we expect from the nature of an acting crew. It must have drawn men interested in men. I don‘t think this was simply a gay celebration, but I do think these imply that was a part of theater life. 2y

Graywacke @batsy the dangers of poetry series. 🙂 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke I agree about the theater world synopsis! 2y

MrsMalaprop Of course @batsy & @Graywacke. Great points. And yes, yes, yes to the Netflix drama. 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

And so quickly after eternal love in Sonnet 116, he moves to vile & evil men 👿.
‘If you don‘t know me then keep your opinions to yourself‘ seems to be the message here.
I wonder who and in what way he was being judged? His work perhaps 🤔?

#shakespearereadalong #sonnnets

@GingerAntics @Graywacke @batsy @TheBookHippie

batsy I quite liked this one! A lashing out at people who talk and this suggests he's gotten a reputation. I guess the theatre world is a gossipy one to begin with but this feels like he's feeling the effects of celebrity and is also tired of being the subject of rumours... Probably because of his multiple dalliances? As previous sonnets also had him defending himself to the youth. 2y

Graywacke I like the implication that he might as well do what people say he‘s doing. 🙂 And then he suggests he‘s like god. I find it a wonderfully arrogant rant. 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

One of my favourites and often read at weddings because of its message about the permanence of true love 💕.

#shakespearereadalong #sonnets

@TheBookHippie @Graywacke @batsy @GingerAntics

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

This is the title page from the 1609 first edition of Shakespeare‘s Sonnets. How many have actually made it to sonnet 110? (I‘m not) How is secretive doing with the Sonnets? (I‘m a bit behind) Any favourites pop out at you this week? What do you think this week‘s theme was?
#Shakespeare #Sonnets #Poetry #shakespearereadalong #Joetry2022

jenniferw88 I'm slightly ahead, because I was behind! 🤣 Have caught up by just reading the ones I annotated for school... will start reading them all again now! 2y

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batsy I am. I thought I wouldn't be able to keep up, but reading the sonnets is a daily ritual that I take great pleasure in now, despite the struggle ? I found it interesting that the later ones from 108 to 110 I think pivoted to the poet's own infidelities & justifications for them. The line in 110, "a god in love, to whom I am confined", is very arresting & gives a kind form to the anguish the poet has been struggling with. 2y

erzascarletbookgasm I‘m playing catch up and am enjoying it 👌 2y

MrsMalaprop I am keeping up. Like @batsy I am very much enjoying them and the workout they are giving my brain. 2y

Graywacke @batsy the “Alas, ‘tis true, I have gone here and there” threw me. I thought, wait! What? But what about all that other stuff? And that you cited is quite something 2y

Graywacke @GingerAntics no worries. I have kept up, but it‘s taken an effort. My morning reading time is all sonnet every day. Thanks for posting these posts. And cool to see that cover. (Was Shakespeare part of the printing process? I understand he may not have been.) 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop they are amazing to revisit and rethink all fresh, 5 minutes or days later. 2y

Graywacke @jenniferw88 I‘m still jealous you have all your own class notes to review. 🙂 2y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa That would make me 110 sonnets behind 🤷‍♀️🤪🤣 2y

TheBookHippie I am loving the daily read I have had favorites and added them to my journaling you think I‘d keep track and post the numbers of the sonnets 🤣🤣🤣 OY! I‘ve love trying to dissect them and I‘m sure I‘m using my own self too much in them 😂 maybe that‘s the point. I do however think this is the intimate Shakespeare . 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke next day reading- OH I think this is what it means —-reads another OH maybe it‘s this 🤣🤣✊🏼🤷🏻‍♀️😅 reading a bunch to catch up I changed my mind 50 times at least. However I am enjoying it . 2y

TheBookHippie @Riveted_Reader_Melissa 🤣🤣🤣 2y

TheBookHippie @batsy I am loving the daily read much more than the catch up I did! Also his shifts 😵‍💫🤣🤷🏻‍♀️. Mood changes ? 2y

TheBookHippie @MrsMalaprop I agree it‘s brain candy. I love it. 2y

Graywacke @Riveted_Reader_Melissa🤣 2y

Graywacke @TheBookHippie and you‘re always right. Until you read it again! 😁🤔🫣🙃 2y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheBookHippie @Graywacke I knew this group would understand the pain of a reading slump and busy irl and the catch-up that now needs to occur 😂 2y

TheBookHippie @Riveted_Reader_Melissa the struggle!!! I swear it‘s still June. 2y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheBookHippie Right 🤣where did it go? 🫠 2y

batsy @Graywacke I know! That was a total plot twist!! 2y

batsy @TheBookHippie So SHIFTY! 😂 2y

batsy @MrsMalaprop Yes, the ole brain is having to more flexible than it's ever been 😁 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

Up to sonnet 106 (of 154) in the #sonnets #shakespearereadalong. Seems to be another sonnet contemplating the beauty of his muse/friend/lover.

Is the gentleman pictured here supposed to be ‘the fair youth‘ I wonder 🤔?

@GingerAntics @Graywacke @batsy @TheBookHippie

TheBookHippie I wonder 🤔🧐 Also—-Do you find that these Sonnets seem more personal and passionate? In a different vein than his plays and histories? I was poundering that last night. 2y

Graywacke I‘m imagining Madeline Miller‘s Patrocles.

Song of Achilles

Graywacke @TheBookHippie I want to find every reference to his writing more personal. Which doesn‘t mean it is (or isn‘t). 🙂 2y

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TheBookHippie @Graywacke 🤣🤣🤣 Probably same thing for me! 2y

MrsMalaprop @Graywacke that was one of the first books I added to my #tbr when I joined Litsy, but I still haven‘t read it. It‘s waiting patiently on my shelf. Read & loved Circe. 2y

MrsMalaprop @TheBookHippie yes, definitely, but given they are sonnets you would expect them to be right? He is pouring his heart and feelings onto the page. 2y

TheBookHippie @MrsMalaprop Absolutly, he‘s quite good at it 🙃. It‘s a different vibe and I am enjoying rereading these decades later than the first go round! 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop I liked Song of Achilles much better than Circe. Not sure if that‘s the general feeling. SoA put a lot of effort into tying well with The Illiad. (And took tens yrs of writing and rewriting!) 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop I want to believe that - pouring out his heart. But I‘ve struggled to see it. 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop i‘ll add, I‘m not convinced it‘s necessary to believe that. Although certainly it‘s very different if he did vs if he didn‘t. 2y

MrsMalaprop @Graywacke maybe “pouring his heart out” is not accurate, but he does seem to be trying to communicate his feelings about love, beauty, life & death to someone he has feeling for. I guess, in response to @TheBookHippie, this is why they may feel more intimate/personal than his plays. 🤔 2y

TheBookHippie @MrsMalaprop I agree definitely more intimate. 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop that makes sense. Especially the love, beauty, life, death. 2y

Graywacke I read this closer this morning and really took to the beauty of it, the tales “but prophecies”. My Pelican notes imply the word “wights” may be an intended reference to Spenser, since it‘s a pseudo-archaic word he used. It makes a nice, if critical, dialogue, if true. (edited) 2y

GingerAntics That is a brilliant edition! 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

#shakespearereadalong I got behind this week so my plan tonight is THIS!

#sonnets

Graywacke All sonnets! Wishing you good reading. 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke a little wine a little cheese a little chocolate a lot of sonnets! 2y

Graywacke @TheBookHippie that will all make anything better. 🙂 2y

batsy @TheBookHippie A lovely way to spend an evening! 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

I am pleasantly surprised how much I am enjoying the #shakespearereadalong of his #sonnets. I‘m sure this beautiful edition is helping.
I‘m into the 100s now. Reading them to myself, then aloud, listening to others read them online & reading analysis of them is helping me process & understand them.
👏💪📖🎉
@GingerAntics @Graywacke @batsy @TheBookHippie

Graywacke Such a powerful and beautiful sonnet. Love all the extra stuff you‘re adding. (I‘m missing analysis in my editions. 🙁). 2y

batsy That is indeed a beautiful edition! 2y

TheBookHippie BEAUTIFUL!!!!! 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

Sorry I‘m getting this up so late. I start a new job tomorrow, and I totally forgot it was Sunday.
How is everyone doing with the sonnets? Any favourites jumping out at you?
#Shakespeare #Sonnets #Poetry #shakespearereadalong #Joetry2022

Graywacke I think petulance is the theme. I like the falls tree as an empty ruined choir…or a thin-haired old man. 2y

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GingerAntics @Graywacke they certainly have gotten darker. 2y

batsy "Petulance is the theme" @Graywacke ? Yep! And I agree, it's gotten darker, and it's super fascinating to see the poet wrestling with his own mortality and thus his artistic legacy and to see the frustrations displaced onto this beautiful youth who gets flowers thrown at him everywhere he goes... These sonnets are like a Portrait of an Artist During a Mid-life Crisis. 2y

Graywacke @batsy 🤣 oh, poor WS, if he could read your last line. I hope he has a sense of humor writing these. 2y

batsy @Graywacke 😂 I mean it as the highest compliment! If only my existential crises could produce these sublime works of art. 2y

Graywacke @batsy I can only wish you less costly inspiration. 🙂 But i do wonder, were his real emotions so utterly intense such that he would write what he wrote? Or how much is a kind of literary performance? 2y

batsy @Graywacke An intriguing question! Easy answer is a bit of both. There are times when one's emotions feel too large and outsized and melodramatic that a tongue-in-cheek performance seems to be a safer way to express it. Yet something real seeps through ... that seems to be the underlying darkness underneath the petulance. IMHO :) 2y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @GingerAntics Good luck tomorrow 2y

Graywacke @batsy it‘s a good answer. 2y

batsy @GingerAntics All the best for your new job 🍀 2y

SilversReviews Good luck in your new job. What site did you use to make that photo please? 2y

Graywacke @GingerAntics wishing you a great 1st day. 2y

LitStephanie Congrats on the new job! I hope it is a great fit. 2y

GingerAntics @SilversReviews I found it on Google. 2y

GingerAntics @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @batsy @Graywacke @LitStephanie @SilversReviews my first day and first week were AWESOME!!! I love my new job. 2y

batsy @GingerAntics That's great! 💕 2y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @GingerAntics That‘s wonderful to here! I‘m so happy for you! 2y

SilversReviews @GingerAntics Ok. I used to use a site called WORDLE but it isn‘t in use any more. Thanks. (edited) 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

Sonnet 81. How interesting that here Shakespeare seems to be pondering that his muse will live on in the poems but Shakespeare himself will be forgotten.

We don‘t even know the name of the subject of his sonnets, but forever more Shakespeare himself will be known to all.

batsy These sonnets are so complex and rich and I wonder every time who exactly inspired these early ones. I wasn't lying when I said I want a multi-season TV series... 😆 2y

MrsMalaprop @batsy I‘d watch for sure 📺🙏. 2y

charl08 Beautiful image / type. 2y

TheBookHippie These images are wonderful! 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

Catching up on my #shakespearereadalong #sonnets on a winter afternoon here in Western Australia. I enjoyed this one where Shakespeare compares his love to food; both so essential to life. Will he starve himself or be a glutton? Same, same 🤷‍♀️😆

TheBookHippie, batsy, Graywacke, GingerAntics

TheBookHippie Same!!!! 2y

Graywacke So much self torture (I miss winter). 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

#shakespearereadalong #sonnets 73

When 16 year old me analysed this sonnet, I wrote things in the margin like:
“Destruction of the beautiful”
“Death” and
“Will is saying, ‘make the most of me while I‘m here‘”
51 year old me agrees 😂

@GingerAntics
@Graywacke
@batsy
@TheBookHippie

TheBookHippie ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️I love this!!! 2y

Graywacke Admiring your 16-yr-old self. Carpe diem 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

Sonnet 69 sure is resonating with me today. Someone in my life is physically beautiful & admired, but I‘m noticing their less admirable qualities. Unlike Shakespeare in this sonnet, I don‘t think it‘s because of who they are hanging out with. It‘s more that they think they are better than others and go through the world deflecting any evidence to the contrary. Sometimes I think perception is everything. 🤔 #shakespearereadalong #sonnets

batsy, Graywacke, GingerAntics

MrsMalaprop @TheBookHippie @Readergrrl @MoonWitch94 (edited) 2y

TheBookHippie I so agree !! 2y

Graywacke Perception, and also expression. Quite a commentary. 2y

batsy Nicely put! I do like that we're getting an impression of the youth that the poet has issues with, despite his devotion ... I'm imagining the youth as an IG influencer with tons of followers 😂 2y

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batsy

Shakespeare's Sonnets & Poems | William Shakespeare

I love that this sonnet has the poet getting mad about a rival poet who writes such exalted verse about the youth, & that Shakespeare/the poet is basically just like, "I understand if he is more worthy of you than I am, because he does indeed have Big Ship Energy" ? ?

#ShakespeareReadAlong

Graywacke 🙂 so what‘s he exactly suggesting? (Aside: I love this post!) 2y

UwannaPublishme And a saucier bark! Love it! 😁 2y

batsy @Graywacke 😆🚢🚢 2y

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batsy @UwannaPublishme Right? My fave sonnets are his petulant ones. They're so unexpected 😁 2y

Graywacke @batsy 🤭 (sorry ☺️). And separate, I love the word “petulant” for many of these. The adjective is momentarily stamped on my (figurative) reading lenses. 2y

Goleemn Sonnet 130 is my fave! I love the twist at the end. I use it in my classroom all the time as an example of a sonnet and how someone can love somebody who is imperfect! 2y

batsy @Goleemn I haven't gotten to that one yet; I look forward to it! Each sonnet surprises me more with the twists and turns. So much is going on 💕 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

More Sunday morning Shakespeare . . . I caught up through Sonnet 66 this morning with breakfast.

#ShakespeareReadalong #poetry #BookAndBreakfast

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

It‘s that time again Shakes fam! I‘ve been inspired by Dan‘s photos for some of the sonnets and found this intriguing photo of a shakes stature inadvertently holding a lovely autumn leaf. How is everyone doing? Are you enjoying the sonnets so far? Any that jump out at you?
#Shakespeare #Sonnets #Poetry #shakespearereadalong #Joetry2022

TheBookHippie I will post my list. Feeling a bit blech currently. I am enjoying it quite a bit! Also love @Graywacke posts. 2y

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MrsMalaprop Am finding reading them aloud and watching videos of famous people reading them is helping me appreciate them. 2y

Graywacke Well, I‘m Covid positive as of this am and haven‘t been able to read today. This is like my first non-miserable moment today. So I‘m a little behind on the sonnets. But I read through 60 and Sonnet 60 is a favorite - with ripples moving towards shore as an illustration of time. 2y

batsy @Graywacke Sorry to hear that. I hope you feel non-miserable and back to yourself really soon. Take care. 2y

batsy I enjoyed 60 and 62 in particular, though they are all holding my attention. I just need to be better about making notes about what strikes my attention 😆 62 was interesting in its themes of identity & identification with the lover/youth. 2y

Graywacke @batsy well, able to read today. 2y

Graywacke 64 would be terrific for the setting of any fantasy movie. “When I have seen by Time‘s fell hand defaced/ The rich proud cost of outworn age,/ When sometime lofty towers I see razed down/ And brass eternal slave to mortal age”. 2y

Graywacke And 65 captures many of our feelings for what has been lost with the tone-deaf passionately insensitive current political climate: “How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea, Whose action is no stronger than a flower?” 2y

LitStephanie I love this picture even though I am not doing the sonnets. Beautiful! 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie his posts ( @Graywacke ) are the best. 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke I hope you‘re feeling better now. COVID really knocked me out! 2y

Graywacke @GingerAntics this picture is wonderful. I‘m tired…but mostly I‘m bummed I‘m still testing positive. No other symptoms. 2y

TheBookHippie @Graywacke Ughhh how incredibly frustrating. 2y

Graywacke @TheBookHippie yes, really frustrating. But unfortunately normal. Ten days of testing positive is apparently really common. 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

How is everyone getting along with the sonnets? What was your favourite sonnet so far? Any observations you‘ve noticed?
#Shakespeare #Sonnets #Poetry #shakespearereadalong #Joetry2022

Graywacke I was enjoying reading to my cat. But we‘re traveling today, so none of that for a bit. Hopefully tomorrow I‘ll learn how some Sonnets work at 9000 ft. I‘ve been trying to read 3 a day. It takes me about 5 minutes a sonnet to figure out what it means and then read it to enjoy. It‘s a whole lot of different sexual implications - coded, compressed, beautiful, ambiguous - but that‘s my main take away. 🤷🏻‍♂️ 2y

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laurieluna I may just jump in with this! 2y

batsy I'm so behind! I'm enjoying it a lot but life is pure chaos at the moment with family visiting from abroad and other family members getting covid and etc. so I'll probably not be able to get through it in time. I do love that each sonnet feels so philosophically rich—and the poet/speaker gives full vent to his complex feelings. 2y

MrsMalaprop Sorry, been busy the last couple of days. Back to work after two glorious weeks off. Think my fave of this group is Sonnet 33: the 🌞 as a metaphor for his friend/lover. The sun will come and go and be covered in clouds. But it will come out again and be all glorious and cast beauty over the land. (edited) 2y

MrsMalaprop Sounds like life is just getting in the way of your reading @batsy And hope you‘re enjoying your mountainous reading @Graywacke 2y

MoonWitch94 I‘m catching up & enjoying! 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

Shakespeare‘s sonnets for the win on a rainy Sunday #shakespearereadalong
Reviewing my 1988 high school analysis as I read these, whilst I listen to the dulcet tones of Sir Patrick Stewart reading them aloud on YouTube.
@GingerAntics @Graywacke @batsy

CarolynM My husband just showed me an app he has on his iPad called Sonnets where a pile of eminent English actors (like Simon Callow, Fiona Shaw, David Tennant) read the Sonnets. It's fabulous! 2y

DivineDiana @CarolynM Thank you for the app information! 🙂 2y

MrsMalaprop @CarolynM Is it just called Sonnets? Looked for it in the App Store but couldn‘t seem to find it. 2y

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CarolynM Sorry Serena, I misled you. It‘s called Shakespeare‘s Sonnets @DivineDiana 2y

GingerAntics Oh I love when Sir Patrick read‘s Shakespeare!!! 2y

DivineDiana Appreciate the update! 🙂 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

Little espresso little Shakespeare #SHAKESPEAREREADALONG

MoonWitch94 What a beautiful cover!!! 2y

TheBookHippie @MoonWitch94 the whole thing is gorgeous it‘s from @rsteve388 ♥️ 2y

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The Sonnets | William Shakespeare, Peter Harness

I found this 1988 illustrated version of Shakespeare‘s sonnets on my bookshelf. I would‘ve been in my final year of high school. I think I bought this book as part of a monthly Doubleday subscription at the time 🤔. Such a book nerd through & through 🤓📖❤️.
Enjoying rereading them now as part of the #sonnets #shakespearereadalong hosted by @GingerAntics
@Graywacke
@batsy

batsy I love seeing this! To think that it makes appearance again for Litsy uni 😁 2y

Graywacke That‘s really cool how you have kept that. There something about those physical books from when we so impressionable. 2y

GingerAntics This looks beautiful!!! 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

#shakespearereadalong @GingerAntics @Graywacke @batsy Here‘s some of my high school English Lit analysis 🧐. When I still wrote in my books! 🫣 #sonnets

Jeg Interesting to see what you wrote , isn‘t it. I found a book the other day that I had underlined ( can‘t believe I did that);and I found it interesting to see my thought processes from back then. 2y

Graywacke But … her beauty fades…or his. This is cool! 🙂 2y

batsy Nice! "You perfect all the time" is definitely the subtext for all of the sonnets we've read so far. 2y

GingerAntics It depends on the book, but I still write in some of mine. It‘s far more efficient when it comes to research. 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

How is everyone doing with the sonnets? Which one is your favourite so far?
#Shakespeare #Sonnets #Poetry #shakespearereadalong #Joetry2022

Graywacke My favorite…well since he have sonnet 18 on this bunch… i‘ll go with that one. 2y

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Graywacke So as I read these I keep trying to contextualize them. Who is talking to whom. I know, it‘s mostly laid out in the commentaries, but still I felt the need to imagine possibilities. I made a list. Curious what others think. My list of the moment will be in my next 1 or 2 posts. 2y

Graywacke Who is talking to who?
1. a man to his good looking bachelor friend (most logical, but kinda boring)
2. a man chiding his male lover for being not straight (my preference)
3. A bachelor looking in the mirror (I also like this)
4. A woman to a bachelor (weird but it works)
5. A bachelor speaking for his own female lover, himself as the subject (its possible?)
6. Are all the male references coding to hide a female love interest? (tough one) 2y

Graywacke (Hope I didn‘t kill this thread 🙁) 2y

MrsMalaprop @Graywacke Interesting analysis and questions 🤔. A lot is unknown about the sonnets, so I say go with whatever you find most fun/titillating! I think the general view is that the earlier ones at least were written for a male friend/lover? So much angst about beauty and life being temporary, with seasonal metaphors. 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop I took that home too - the brevity of youth and youthful beauty. Time. Also nuance of expression with multiple meanings and implications. Also, they‘re very challenging. 2y

batsy This was such a fascinating set of sonnets. I love those points of analysis @Graywacke I know it's taken for granted that these were written for a male lover, but it does seem like there's so much going on beneath! Like envy of beauty, a kind of resentment (almost) of this beautiful young man carrying about & enchanting people with his looks without doing the hard work of baby-making, etc. But towards the end of the 22 that we read the poet 2y

batsy sort of shifts from being worried about sexual reproduction to simply just taking pleasure in the man's beauty & the poet's ability to immortalise that beauty in words. I found Sonnet 10 especially intriguing for the lines "Make thee another self for love of me". I would totally watch like 10 seasons of a Netflix show on the underlying romantic & sexual drama of these sonnets. 2y

Graywacke @batsy I‘m nodding to “fascinating”, “so much going on beneath”, and the shift to “beauty”. This has been a fascinating experience. I struggled so much to find a way into these, and I feel like that now I‘m getting something, I‘m getting into so sacred baseline of English language history. It‘s really rewarding. 2y

Graywacke @batsy and the shift to beauty has a narrative power. The ground is lain, and these comments, free of the purpose (whether of procreation, or just chiding playfully about sex) feel free and more beautiful. 2y

Graywacke @GingerAntics thanks so much for leading. I hope more people come in late and carry on through. This is a great experience reading these sonnets. But @MrsMalaprop @batsy - four isn‘t a bad crowd. 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke @MrsMalaprop @batsy I love this idea of a Netflix show on the sonnets. That would be awesome. I like the list of possibilities as well. I agree that number 2 and number 3 work well. It would also be sort of interesting if Shakes was trying to write from the female perspective and pulled off number 4. Number 5 seems intriguing as well. 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke I think discussions are harder for the sonnets. I wasn‘t sure what to post when it came time to. It‘s not like the plays where we have something to discuss. 2y

Graywacke @GingerAntics well, they are difficult in every way. It makes discussing them difficult too. 2y

batsy @Graywacke I like the narrative power that comes with those shifts in mood, as you say. Nicely put. These feel so complex. My academic pal came through again and I've got a pdf of Helen Vendler's The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets to slowly read with, & her love & enthusiasm is so helpful. It's like a deep dive into Shakespeare's brain 💕 2y

batsy @GingerAntics It's tough to find an entry point into discussions, for sure! There's so many angles from which one can approach each individual sonnet. 2y

Graywacke @batsy Vendler sounds terrific. Please share if anything strikes you. I find the Pelican really good on the line level, but there‘s no larger guide. I‘m also using Paul Edmondson and Stanley wells. They have two cool things - a prose rewrite for clarity and one quick sentence summary of each sonnet (which sometimes only partially works). But their critique isn‘t that helpful. So I have enough to understand, but no real help beyond that. 2y

Graywacke @MrsMalaprop @batsy i did learn today, thanks and Edmundson & Wells that homoerotic sonnets were a thing in the 1590‘s (when English sonnets were briefly also hot). And that Erasmus wrote an epistle urging a friend to marry and have children (Encomium Matrimonii) - and that this was imitated. The implication is that neither of these aspects were rebellious, but instead part of the standard sonnet writing. 2y

Graywacke And I found this - which translates the key part of Erasmus and other sources: https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/shakespeares-sonnets/appendix-... 2y

TheBookHippie Okay I am doing a little catch up! Being offthegrid/offline put me a tad behind.....I still love the sonnets I am still looking for my notes! HA. I know I kept them......I mean they are only 40 ish years old.... 2y

MoonWitch94 I‘m just starting but enjoying 2y

Graywacke @TheBookHippie @MoonWitch94 yay! 🙂 2y

GingerAntics @batsy exactly, and it‘s not like we can do a post for every sonnet so people can choose which one(s) to dive into. 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie did you look in the closet, in that box, on the top shelf, in the back there? 🤣 2y

GingerAntics @Graywacke there are so many entry points and so many interpretations and ways to look at each one, plus 22 sonnets a week. It would have taken years, but maybe we should have done like 3 of them a week. 🤣 we could have dived in then. 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

I‘ve started Shakespeare‘s sonnets, and I‘m absolutely going to have to rely on the group to get through them all. I‘m using my complete Shakespeare for print as well as this audio. I‘ve also watched some YouTube videos, including by a channel called Line by Line Shakespeare. I know some readers are using print editions with notes, but I‘d appreciate seeing what online sources readers are using alongside as well.

#ShakespeareReadalong #poetry

Graywacke They‘re challenging. How is it going? 2y

Daisey @Graywacke Challenging is right. I was doing well reading a couple a day, but then I‘ve had some busy days and gotten behind. I‘ll probably be playing catch up again on Sunday morning. 2y

Graywacke @Daisey 👍 you look busy in your posts! 2y

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jenniferw88

Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

#julyjam #iforgot which sonnets I studied for my GCSEs (english exams taken in america's grade 10), so this re-read will be interesting as to which ones have been annotated. Sonnet #18 is well known ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day"), however it turns out I studied #19 instead! @GingerAntics (also studied in this batch - #2 and #7)

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

GingerAntics I think I‘m going to have to pull out the copy I used in grad school, for this very reason. 😂 2y

Eggs 💙📚❤️ 2y

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Shakespeare's Sonnets & Poems | William Shakespeare

Shakespeare in Autumn (Seasons Edition -- Fall): Select Plays and the Complete Sonnets https://a.co/d/3ni6YU2

Was on sale for 15.99 it‘s my Shakespeare reward. Arrived today it‘s beautiful

Also someone just left M & Ms at my door in a bag and a note that says thank you for always fighting

So now I‘m crying

JenReadsAlot ❤️ 2y

Liatrek That‘s beautiful ❤️❤️ 2y

MaureenMc 💗💗💗 2y

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Hooked_on_books That‘s gorgeous! And so is the bookmark! 2y

TheBookHippie @Hooked_on_books it is stunning in person!!! 2y

Leftcoastzen 👏✊M&Ms ! 2y

Cathythoughts So lovely 💫 2y

batsy What a lovely edition (and gesture! M&Ms 💚) 2y

GingerAntics Wow, I love that someone noticed, but maybe also doesn‘t feel safe speaking up more publicly given the environment you both live in. 🧡🧡🧡 2y

GingerAntics I‘m going to have to look into these editions as well. This one is gorgeous. I‘d love to see the other three. 2y

TheBookHippie @GingerAntics I have Jane Eyre and Hunchback of NotreDame both gifts! They are so cool! 2y

TheBookHippie @Leftcoastzen @batsy @GingerAntics my love of the M & M is well known 🤣 2y

GingerAntics @TheBookHippie I love everything about this. 2y

Lizpixie I have the whole set. They look so pretty on the shelf😍 2y

TheBookHippie @Lizpixie oh how lovely! 2y

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Complete Sonnets | William Shakespeare

We have finished the plays… so now it‘s time for some poetry!!! 22 sonnets a week - that‘s 308 lines, 3,080 syllables per week - for 7 weeks. It may seem like a lot, but I promise it‘s not. Especially because YouTube has videos of famous Shakespearean actors reading each sonnet (there is also an app for that). Who‘s ready?!
#Shakespeare #Sonnets #Poetry #shakespearereadalong #Joetry2022