Description
Book SynopsisThis introduction provides a concise overview of the central issues and critical responses to Shakespeare's sonnets, looking at the themes, images, and structure of his work, as well as the social and historical circumstances surrounding their creation.
Trade Review“Lucid and engaging in its presentation, wide-ranging in its scope, and acute in its analyses, this book provides a valuable overview of Shakespeare's sonnets”
Heather Dubrow, University of Wisconsin "Dympna Callaghan provides an informed but most accessible guide to Shakespeare's Sonnets, demystifying and illuminating these enthralling poems in equal measure. She examines them in relation to the conventions and understandings of their own time, to show how they continue to speak so powerfully to ours." Richard Dutton, Ohio State University
“Callaghan makes an enduring contribution to scholarship on some of the most accomplished yet enigmatic lyric verse in the English language.”
Choice
“It presents the ongoing issues clearly, and takes a stand … .Callaghan’s intelligent and concise introduction, demonstrate that … criticism is not tired at all.” Notes and Queries
Table of ContentsPreface.
1. Introduction: Shakespeare’s Perfectly Wilde Sonnets.
2. Identity.
3. Beauty.
4. Love.
5. Numbers.
6. Time.
Appendix: The Matter of the Sonnets.
Notes.
Works Cited.
Index
