First published in 1609, Shakespeare’s Sonnets were described by William Wordsworth as “the Key which unlocked Shakespeare’s heart”.
They explore themes of love, sexual desire, jealousy, mortality, friendship and the passage of time and continue to be published and shared around the world to this day.
Many of the actors were working with the RSC at the time of the theatre’s temporary closure on 17 March and have been unable to perform or rehearse since.
The RSC will release 90 of the 154 sonnets over the coming weeks which will be available to view via the RSC's You Tube channel.
Highlights include:
- Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day (Sonnet 18) byAntony Byrne
- A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted (20) Jonathan Broadbent
- When in disgrace with Fortune and men’s eyes (29) Antony Sher
- Not marble, nor the gilded monuments (55) Lucy Phelps
- Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore (60) Emma Fielding
- Tired with all these, for restful death I cry’ (66) Rosie Sheehy
- How like a winter hath my absence been (97) Amanda Harris
- Let me not to the marriage of true minds (116) Alexandra Gilbreath
- My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun (130) Miles Jupp.
What is a sonnet?
These are the main characteristics of this form of verse:
- a 14-line poem
- generally structured in three quatrains (each with their own ABAB rhyme schemes) and a final rhyming couplet, with
- the final couplet often sums up or gives a surprising twist or turn to the theme of the poem, and
- usually written in the Di dum Di dum heart beat rhythm of the iambic pentameter
Shakespeare had written throughout his career, possibly as exercises in compressing a particular feeling of passion or jealousy.
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSIxo_5qCKQjrXHGJvVQ7ppaBkH5D8P2b and www.rsc.org.uk
Jane Ellis at jane.ellis@rsc.org.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment