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SONNETCAST – William Shakespeare's Sonnets Recited, Revealed, Relived

SONNETCAST – William Shakespeare's Sonnets Recited, Revealed, Relived

By Sebastian Michael

Sebastian Michael, author of The Sonneteer and several other plays and books, looks at each of William Shakespeare's 154 Sonnets in the originally published sequence, giving detailed explanations and looking out for what the words themselves tell us about the great poet and playwright, about the Fair Youth and the Dark Lady, and about their complex and fascinating relationships.

Podcast transcripts, the sonnets, contact details and full info at www.sonnetcast.com
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Sonnet 37: As a Decrepit Father Takes Delight

SONNETCAST – William Shakespeare's Sonnets Recited, Revealed, RelivedMay 28, 2023

00:00
18:46
Sonnet 37: As a Decrepit Father Takes Delight

Sonnet 37: As a Decrepit Father Takes Delight

In the first of three sonnets that appear to disrupt the sequence that concerns itself with the young man's evident infidelity, Sonnet 37 revisits the themes previously encountered of the poet's keenly felt lack of luck, absence of esteem, and sorely missing success, and contrasts this with the young man's abundant riches, both material and metaphorical, describing them as a source of sustenance and survival even while Fortune bestows her gifts elsewhere.

May 28, 202318:46
Sonnet 36: Let Me Confess That We Two Must Be Twain

Sonnet 36: Let Me Confess That We Two Must Be Twain

With the curious Sonnet 36 William Shakespeare appears to be either inverting the guilt and shame that the previous three sonnets have laid upon the young man for his evident transgression and projecting it directly on himself, or to be uncovering a new source of scandal that gives him reason to suggest – borderline disingenuously, it might seem – that they dissociate themselves from each other, even though in the same breath it also emphatically confirms the love they hold for each other.

May 21, 202321:07
Sonnet 35: No More Be Grieved at That Which Thou Hast Done

Sonnet 35: No More Be Grieved at That Which Thou Hast Done

With his tormented, paradoxical, and sensationally revealing Sonnet 35, William Shakespeare absolves the young man of his misdeed and puts what has happened down to nothing in the world being perfect, not even he. It is the third in this set of three sonnets that might be considered a triptych, and with it, Shakespeare appears to resign himself into the triangular complexity his relationship with the young man has acquired, while dropping a nugget of information that to us comes as something of a poetic bombshell.

May 14, 202321:03
Sonnet 34: Why Didst Thou Promise Such a Beauteous Day

Sonnet 34: Why Didst Thou Promise Such a Beauteous Day

The devastated and devastatingly powerful Sonnet 34 picks up from where Sonnet 33 wanted to not only leave off but let go, and like a second wave of pain and mourning asks the young man directly why he has allowed the gorgeous sunshine of this relationship to be cast over with appalling weather. And unlike Sonnet 33, it not only tries, but apparently succeeds at forgiving the young man's conduct, paving the way for an even more conciliatory Sonnet 35, principally – and most tellingly – prompted by the young man's apparent response to being so called out.

May 07, 202318:20
Sonnet 33: Full Many a Glorious Morning Have I Seen

Sonnet 33: Full Many a Glorious Morning Have I Seen

With Sonnet 33 a new phase begins in the relationship between William Shakespeare and the young man. The storm clouds that gather in this poem are a direct and intentional metaphor for the turbulence the two face, as the young man has clearly gone and done something to upset his loving poet. What exactly this is, the sonnet doesn't tell us, but it is obvious that Shakespeare is hurt and disappointed, whilst trying to rationalise the young man's behaviour in a way that makes some sort of sense to him.

Apr 30, 202319:57
Sonnet 32: If Thou Survive My Well-Contented Day

Sonnet 32: If Thou Survive My Well-Contented Day

The wryly ironic Sonnet 32 marks a caesura in the canon, as it sits right between a development arc in the relationship that spans the sequence uninterrupted from Sonnet 18 to Sonnet 31, while giving nothing away of the entirely new phase the relationship enters with the storm clouds that gather in Sonnet 33. In tone, in attitude, in self-evaluation, it gains access to a register different to any that has gone before and quite unlike any that is soon to come, and so it stands out, rather, for being really quite unique.

Apr 23, 202320:01
Sonnet 31: Thy Bosom Is Endeared With All Hearts

Sonnet 31: Thy Bosom Is Endeared With All Hearts

With the astonishingly bold, borderline brazen, Sonnet 31, William Shakespeare strikes a completely new tone and tells both his young lover and us things he has not revealed before. It comes as close as we have seen thus far to declaring a physical component to their relationship, and in doing so opens an entirely new chapter with a whole different dynamic.

Apr 16, 202323:34
Sonnet 30: When to the Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought

Sonnet 30: When to the Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought

Sonnet 30 picks up on the theme of Sonnet 29 and develops the 'sweet love' remembered there into a reminiscence about lost love, missed opportunity and failed aspirations, among which again it is the thought of the young man that has the power, here not so much to simply lift the spirit and therefore the state of mind and heart, but to restore the losses suffered and to end the sorrows they have brought – to, in essence, heal.

Apr 09, 202322:33
Sonnet 29: When in Disgrace With Fortune and Men's Eyes

Sonnet 29: When in Disgrace With Fortune and Men's Eyes

One of the most celebrated poems in the canon, Sonnet 29 casts William Shakespeare in a state of deep and lonely unhappiness, from which the memory of his young lover is able to lift him in spectacular fashion. By continuing the theme of weariness and dejection established by the previous two sonnets, it confirms our notion of Shakespeare being on the road, away from the young man, but rather than focusing on a longing desire to be with him, it rejoices in the love experienced before.

Apr 02, 202318:45
Sonnet 28: How Can I Then Return in Happy Plight

Sonnet 28: How Can I Then Return in Happy Plight

Sonnet 28 continues on from Sonnet 27 and develops the thought further, elaborating on the ways day and night appear to conspire to make William Shakespeare's struggling life a misery as he travels, away from his young lover. While it thus does not tell us anything that is in that sense new, it produces a layered internal dialogue that gives us a great sense of the poet's state of mind and disposition of heart.

Mar 26, 202317:42
Sonnet 27: Weary With Toil, I Haste Me to My Bed

Sonnet 27: Weary With Toil, I Haste Me to My Bed

Sonnet 27 is the first of several sonnets in which Shakespeare laments the fact that he is away from his young lover, thus answering the question posed indirectly by Sonnet 26 as to who is on the move. And while this sonnet can stand on its own, with a fully formed and perfectly concluded argument, it does come as a pair with Sonnet 28, which follows on directly from it and which, by contrast, relies on this sonnet to be properly introduced. The two should therefore be looked at together, and we will do so when we get to Sonnet 28.

Mar 19, 202320:38
Sonnet 26: Lord of My Love, to Whom in Vassalage

Sonnet 26: Lord of My Love, to Whom in Vassalage

The obsequious, so as not to say startlingly submissive, Sonnet 26 radically changes the tone and therefore our perception of the constellation between William Shakespeare and the young man: gone is the confidence of Sonnet 25, gone, even, is the complexity of Sonnet 24 and the uncertainty of Sonnet 23, long gone seems the joy and exuberance of Sonnet 18. With Sonnet 26, William Shakespeare effectively withdraws, resets, and almost apologises for having been presumptuous in his declarations of love.

Mar 12, 202320:29
Sonnet 25: Let Those Who Are in Favour With Their Stars

Sonnet 25: Let Those Who Are in Favour With Their Stars

The at once defiant and celebratory Sonnet 25 is the first in the series to tell us something about William Shakespeare's own situation in life, and it also makes an astonishingly bold claim on the young man, newly asserting not only that the two of them belong together, but that they are inseparable.

Mar 05, 202322:42
Sonnet 24: Mine Eye Hath Played the Painter and Hath Stelled
Feb 26, 202324:35
Sonnet 23: As an Unperfect Actor on the Stage

Sonnet 23: As an Unperfect Actor on the Stage

The simultaneously self-conscious and also cautiously confident Sonnet 23 counsels the young man in the art of love, and in doing so it becomes the first one in the series to signal an uncertainty on William Shakespeare's part about the level to which the young man's love for him matches his own, in both degree and sophistication. And it is also the first sonnet to tell us that while Shakespeare still fully believes in the power of his written words, he has a tendency to become tongue-tied when in the presence of his young lover.

Feb 19, 202319:15
Sonnet 22: My Glass Shall Not Persuade Me I Am Old

Sonnet 22: My Glass Shall Not Persuade Me I Am Old

The superficially traditional and almost a little wistful sounding Sonnet 22 is the first one to address the age difference between William Shakespeare and his young lover and it is also the first one to expressly show us that – certainly as far as the poet is concerned and believes to understand – this love is mutual and reciprocated. Which makes this the third sonnet in quick succession to give us invaluable insights into Shakespeare's emotional world.

Feb 12, 202315:06
Sonnet 21: So Is it Not With Me as With That Muse

Sonnet 21: So Is it Not With Me as With That Muse

The distinctive and sincere Sonnet 21 stands out as the first in the series in which William Shakespeare addresses an unspecified general 'audience' to talk about his love – as opposed to the young man directly, or a personified concept, such as Time – and it is also the first one to reference the poetry of somebody else or of other people. It therefore marks an especially significant stage in the development of the relationship and a notable new stance with which Shakespeare positions himself towards his love and the outside world.

Feb 05, 202316:09
Sonnet 20: A Woman's Face, With Nature's Own Hand Painted

Sonnet 20: A Woman's Face, With Nature's Own Hand Painted

The fabulously frank and somewhat saucy Sonnet 20 takes the proverbial bull by the horn and leads it straight to the elephant in the room, addressing head on the fact that the person I, the poet, am here in love with is a young man; and it confirms one of the principal clues we were given earlier as to the young man's identity, which two facts together make this one of the most important sonnets for our understanding of The Fair Youth and Shakespeare's relationship with him so far.

Jan 29, 202320:56
Sonnet 19: Devouring Time, Blunt Thou the Lion's Paws

Sonnet 19: Devouring Time, Blunt Thou the Lion's Paws

​The heartfelt, somewhat self-conscious, but defiant and confident Sonnet 19 underlines the bold assertion I, the poet, William Shakespeare, made in Sonnet 18: that it is my poetry itself that gives life to the young man who receives these sonnets, and thus preserves his youth forever.

Jan 22, 202316:29
Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

One of the most famous sonnets in the canon, Sonnet 18 bursts onto the scene with an energy, confidence, and message all of its own, setting the tone for a whole new kind of relationship and putting the poetry itself centre stage. It is one of the easiest to understand – which may in parts account for its immense popularity – and it is utterly delightful in its unabashed affirmation of life.

Jan 15, 202322:30
The Procreation Sonnets

The Procreation Sonnets

The Procreation Sonnets are something of a conundrum: they are entirely clear in their intention, in their message, and in their poetic purpose, they stand at the beginning of the originally published sequence, and yet at first glance they seem to fit nowhere properly. And more than anything else – and more than many if not most of the other sonnets that we have of William Shakespeare’s – they raise the basic question: why? Why does William Shakespeare at some point in his life take time out of what cannot have been anything other than a busy schedule to tell a young man to produce an heir? What concern is the young man of his? And who is the young man? 

In this Special Edition of SONNETCAST, Sebastian Michael, author of The Sonneteer, summarises what the Procreation Sonnets tell us so far about William Shakespeare and the recipient of the first 17 Sonnets...

Jan 09, 202323:12
Sonnet 17: Who Will Believe My Verse in Time to Come

Sonnet 17: Who Will Believe My Verse in Time to Come

The intricate, self-aware, and in places truly tender Sonnet 17 is the last one to advise the young man to produce some offspring, which makes it the last of the Procreation Sonnets, and it segues smoothly into entirely different and really new territory where William Shakespeare as the poet begins to take centre stage right next to the man he has been writing these sonnets for.

Jan 02, 202316:50
Sonnet 16: But Wherefore Do Not You a Mightier Way

Sonnet 16: But Wherefore Do Not You a Mightier Way

The riveting and really rather irony-infused Sonnet 16 directly follows on from Sonnet 15 and completes the argument set up and semi-resolved there. And while Sonnet 15 can just about stand on its own – with, as we have seen – quite thrilling significance for how it then can be read, Sonnet 16 absolutely needs to be read with Sonnet 15 for it to make sense.

Dec 26, 202219:31
Sonnet 15: When I Consider Every Thing That Grows

Sonnet 15: When I Consider Every Thing That Grows

With the somewhat suggestive, slightly cheeky, and categorically confident Sonnet 15, William Shakespeare taps into a whole different register that positions him as the poet in a whole new relationship towards the young man he is writing to, and with astonishing effect.

Dec 20, 202221:26
Sonnet 14: Not From the Stars Do I My Judgement Pluck

Sonnet 14: Not From the Stars Do I My Judgement Pluck

The at first glance curiously anticlimactic Sonnet 14 seems to take us a step back in any real or supposed trajectory that the sonnets so far have described, but it nevertheless offers an intriguing insight into the constellation between the poet and the young man, and may in fact hide more than meets the eye.

Dec 12, 202215:12
Sonnet 13: O That You Were Yourself, But Love, You Are

Sonnet 13: O That You Were Yourself, But Love, You Are

The personal, pleading, and particularly revealing Sonnet 13 marks an especially noteworthy change in tone, and it provides one specific detail that narrows the field of candidates for the young man dramatically in one fell swoop.

Dec 05, 202219:25
Sonnet 12: When I Do Count the Clock that Tells the Time

Sonnet 12: When I Do Count the Clock that Tells the Time

In the gorgeous, pensive, and mature Sonnet 12, William Shakespeare finds a whole new register to relate a message that is by now familiar, and he reveals something of the depth and melancholy that will become a feature of future poems in the series.

Nov 28, 202210:46
Sonnet 11: As Fast as Thou Shalt Wane, so Fast Thou Growst

Sonnet 11: As Fast as Thou Shalt Wane, so Fast Thou Growst

The refreshingly blunt and remarkably utilitarian Sonnet 11 makes a now well established old argument with a couple of surprising new twists and confirms, or at least supports, a couple of observations about Shakespeare's day and about the young man that we made before.

Nov 22, 202215:04
Sonnet 10: For Shame Deny That Thou Bearst Love to Any

Sonnet 10: For Shame Deny That Thou Bearst Love to Any

The spectacular Sonnet 10 boldly goes where no sonnet in the series so far has gone before and radically changes the tone and the dynamic between the poet and the young man.

Nov 15, 202214:45
Sonnet 9: Is it for Fear to Wet a Widow's Eye

Sonnet 9: Is it for Fear to Wet a Widow's Eye

The multi-layered and marvellously complex Sonnet 9 sets out with an unlikely supposition to make some strongly suggestive statements about the young man and his conduct and introduces a whole new, massive, and massively important, concept to these poems.

Nov 09, 202218:52
Sonnet 8: Music to Hear, Why Hearst Thou Music Sadly?

Sonnet 8: Music to Hear, Why Hearst Thou Music Sadly?

The quite contradictory because poetically plausible but seemingly lightweight Sonnet 8 makes yet another, maybe somewhat more laboured, attempt at coming up with a metaphor to move the young man to making a child: music. But it does offer up a significant new revelation...

Oct 31, 202218:16
Sonnet 7: Lo! In the Orient When the Gracious Light

Sonnet 7: Lo! In the Orient When the Gracious Light

In the fascinating Sonnet 7 William Shakespeare draws on a classical image to try and convince the young man that he needs to produce a son: the sun travelling in its chariot through the sky, and although the metaphor may have its flaws it still tells us yet more about the poet, his education, and his cultural context.

Oct 24, 202223:18
Sonnet 6: Then Let Not Winter's Ragged Hand Deface

Sonnet 6: Then Let Not Winter's Ragged Hand Deface

Sonnet 6 seamlessly follows Sonnet 5 and continues the argument set up there: the poet compares the young man to a flower which, as winter approaches, can only maintain its beauty in a distilled form, and encourages him to distil himself by depositing his essence somewhere so it can not only be preserved but even multiply itself.

Oct 17, 202221:51
Sonnet 5: Those Hours That With Gentle Work Did Frame

Sonnet 5: Those Hours That With Gentle Work Did Frame

Sonnet 5 together with Sonnet 6 forms the first pair in the series. It sets out to compel the young man to metaphorically distil his essence by producing a child...

Oct 11, 202210:24
Sonnet 4: Unthrifty Loveliness, Why Dost Thou Spend

Sonnet 4: Unthrifty Loveliness, Why Dost Thou Spend

In the intriguing fourth Sonnet, William Shakespeare makes what sounds like a fairly abstract case for the young man to now produce an heir. But could it be that this in itself tells us something about the young man and about the culture he and Shakespeare live and operate in on the one hand and also about the reasons Shakespeare may have for actually writing these first few sonnets that form the Procreation Sequence?...

Oct 05, 202220:54
Sonnet 3: Look in Thy Glass and Tell the Face Thou Viewest

Sonnet 3: Look in Thy Glass and Tell the Face Thou Viewest

In the particularly exciting third Sonnet, William Shakespeare counsels the young man to recognise it is time now to have a son so that when he reaches the age his mother is at today, he will be able to remind himself of his youth by looking at him, just as she does when she sees herself reflected in him. What makes this sonnet so interesting is that we learn something very specific and exceptionally significant about the young man here...

Sep 29, 202215:06
Sonnet 2: When Forty Winters Shall Besiege Thy Brow

Sonnet 2: When Forty Winters Shall Besiege Thy Brow

In the second Sonnet of the Procreation Sequence, the poet continues his mission of trying to convince a young man of the need to have children, by painting a picture of him in his old age when only a son could carry on his beauty in the world...

Sep 20, 202212:49
Sonnet 1: From Fairest Creatures We Desire Increase

Sonnet 1: From Fairest Creatures We Desire Increase

In the first Sonnet of the generally accepted and originally published series, William Shakespeare tells a young man of unnamed identity that he is wasting his beauty on himself and depriving the world of its due by not having children, and asks him to change his ways. This is also the first of the Fair Youth Sonnets and thus the first of the Procreation Sonnets and so it sets the tone for the opening sequence.

Sep 13, 202214:12
0 Introduction
Sep 07, 202223:08