Sonnet 33
Encyclopedia
Shakespeare's Sonnet 33 is the first of what are sometimes called the estrangement sonnets (33-36): poems concerned with the speaker's response to an unspecified "sensual fault" (35
) committed by his beloved.
notes thematic and stylistic parallels to the last scene of The Two Gentlemen of Verona
. George Steevens
and Edward Dowden
were among the first to group the so-called "estrangement sonnets" and to note the parallels to other groups (such as 40
- 42
) with similar themes.
The sonnet and the ones that follow have been especially attractive to critics interested in biographical reference in the sonnet; George Wyndham
deplores this tendency, as does Stephen Booth.
Hilton Landry notes that the poem is an extended simile
with metaphors in each branch of the simile; he also called it the "simplest and sweetest" of the group. Elizabeth Sagaser notes that the poem is counterposed to Sonnet 116
.
The poem's conceit
has numerous parallels in Shakespeare's plays. Sidney Lee
compares "flatter" (line 2) to a similar usage in King John 3.1.77-80. Steevens, Edward Capell
, and Henry Brown note parallels in other plays. Edmond Malone
glosses "rack" (line 6) as "the quick motion of the clouds"; "region" (10), a term for a division of the atmosphere, echoes and amplifies the reference. Rolfe
notes that "forlorn" (line 7) was in Elizabethan pronunciation with the accent on the first syllable when it follows an unaccented syllable.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
analyzes the poem as an instance of how Shakespeare "gives a dignity and passion to the objects that he presents. Unaided by any previous excitement, they burst upon us at once in life and in power."
Sonnet 35
Shakespeare's Sonnet 35 is part of the sonnet sequence commonly agreed to be addressed to a young man; more narrowly, it is part of a sequence running from 33 to 42, in which the speaker considers a sin committed against him by the young man, which the speaker struggles to forgive.-Paraphrase:Don't...
) committed by his beloved.
Paraphrase
I've seen many beautiful mornings on which the sun shines on the mountaintops, the meadows, and streams. Yet soon, clouds overcast the sun, hiding the sun from the world until it sinks in the west. In the same way, my beloved shone on me one morning, making me happy, yet an hour later he too was hidden by clouds. I do not scorn him for this; even the best humans may err when the sun of heaven does so.Source and analysis
Nicolaus DeliusNicolaus Delius
Nicolaus Delius was a German philologist. Delius was born at Bremen; he was distinguished especially as a student of Shakespeare and for his edition of Shakespeare's works....
notes thematic and stylistic parallels to the last scene of The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Gentlemen of Verona
The Two Gentlemen of Verona is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1590 or 1591. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and tropes with which he would later deal in more...
. George Steevens
George Steevens
George Steevens was an English Shakespearean commentator.He was born at Poplar, the son of a captain and later director of the East India Company. He was educated at Eton College and at King's College, Cambridge, where he remained from 1753 to 1756...
and Edward Dowden
Edward Dowden
Edward Dowden , was an Irish critic and poet.He was the son of John Wheeler Dowden, a merchant and landowner, and was born at Cork, three years after his brother John, who became Bishop of Edinburgh in 1886. Edward's literary tastes emerged early, in a series of essays written at the age of twelve...
were among the first to group the so-called "estrangement sonnets" and to note the parallels to other groups (such as 40
Sonnet 40
Shakespeare's Sonnet 40 is one of the sequence addressed to a well-born, handsome young man to whom the speaker is devoted. In this poem, as in the others in this part of the sequence, the speaker expresses resentment of his beloved's power over him....
- 42
Sonnet 42
Sonnet 42 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare.Sonnet 42 translation to modern English:. It is not my main ground of complaint that you have her, even though I loved her dearly; that she has you is my chief regret, a loss that touches me more closely...
) with similar themes.
The sonnet and the ones that follow have been especially attractive to critics interested in biographical reference in the sonnet; George Wyndham
George Wyndham
George Wyndham PC was a British Conservative politician, man of letters, noted for his elegance, and one of The Souls.-Background and education:...
deplores this tendency, as does Stephen Booth.
Hilton Landry notes that the poem is an extended simile
Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like", "as". Even though both similes and metaphors are forms of comparison, similes indirectly compare the two ideas and allow them to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas...
with metaphors in each branch of the simile; he also called it the "simplest and sweetest" of the group. Elizabeth Sagaser notes that the poem is counterposed to Sonnet 116
Sonnet 116
Shakespeare's sonnet 116 was first published in 1609. It is about eternal and unchanging love and has been cherished in the past four hundred years for its hopeful and promising note. Its structure and form are a typical example of the Shakespearean sonnet....
.
The poem's conceit
Conceit
In literature, a conceit is an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem. By juxtaposing, usurping and manipulating images and ideas in surprising ways, a conceit invites the reader into a more sophisticated understanding of an object of comparison...
has numerous parallels in Shakespeare's plays. Sidney Lee
Sidney Lee
Sir Sidney Lee was an English biographer and critic.He was born Solomon Lazarus Lee at 12 Keppel Street, Bloomsbury, London and educated at the City of London School and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated in modern history in 1882. In the next year he became assistant-editor of the...
compares "flatter" (line 2) to a similar usage in King John 3.1.77-80. Steevens, Edward Capell
Edward Capell
Edward Capell , English Shakespearian critic, was born at Troston Hall in Suffolk.-Biography:Through the influence of the Duke of Grafton he was appointed to the office of deputy-inspector of plays in 1737, with a salary of £200 per annum, and in 1745 he was made groom of the privy chamber through...
, and Henry Brown note parallels in other plays. Edmond Malone
Edmond Malone
Edmond Malone was an Irish Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare.Assured of an income after the death of his father in 1774, Malone was able to give up his law practice for at first political and then more congenial literary pursuits. He went to London, where he...
glosses "rack" (line 6) as "the quick motion of the clouds"; "region" (10), a term for a division of the atmosphere, echoes and amplifies the reference. Rolfe
William James Rolfe
William James Rolfe, Litt.D. was an American Shakespearean scholar and educator, born in Newburyport, Massachusetts on December 10, 1827....
notes that "forlorn" (line 7) was in Elizabethan pronunciation with the accent on the first syllable when it follows an unaccented syllable.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
analyzes the poem as an instance of how Shakespeare "gives a dignity and passion to the objects that he presents. Unaided by any previous excitement, they burst upon us at once in life and in power."