I've developed a semi-obsession with THIS sonnet by Shakespeare (of course, Shakespeare, if not Shakespeare, then who? Oh, yes. Plutarch. Sometimes I forget):
The other two, slight air and purging fire
Are both with thee wherever I abide.
The first my thought, the other my desire,
These present-absent with swift motion slide.
For when these quicker elements are gone
In tender embassy of love to thee,
My life, being made of four, with two alone
Sinks down to death, oppress'd with melancholy;
Until life's composition be recur'd.
By these swift messengers return'd from thee,
Who even but now come back again, assur'd
Of thy fair health, recounting it to me:
This told, I joy; but then no longer glad,
I send them back again and straight grow sad.
I simply love that he (Shakespeare) uses "joy" as a verb. I think I will joy today. Hey! That's a clever t-shirt idea: "I Will joy!" The capitalized "Will" is intended, of course. It's somewhat pretentious, but still fun. I like it. Anyway, what primarily interests me about this particular sonnet is the "humours" theme that runs throughout. Wouldn't it be great if we still believed in the four humours? "To hell with Paxil! I'm only having too much bile today! This too shall pass!" Oh, how simple and lovely life could be . . . Alas! Let us talk of humours and sonnets. Do you have a favorite humour? Do you have a favorite sonnet? In the mean time, don't forget to joy today. And, remember: Amy thinks you're cool.
6 comments:
Cara mia, questo è magnifico! Io gioia di volontà!
Yeah, yeah, yeah . . . Benito Mussolini.
I've just had a look at his sonnets... Am I to understand he was gay, too?
Hi!
No, not really. Most scholars actually believe that THOSE sonnets were written "in character," that is, Shakespeare was writing in a created voice . . . Like an actor, only he was "acting" poetry as opposed to theatre. It makes sense to me. I'm sorry that it took so long for your comment to appear. I've accidentally switched on this "moderate comments" thing, and I need to switch it OFF because it's annoying. :(
Oh, that's alright, but thank you. I'm glad to have read the sonnets. I had read long ago what I'd thought were the Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ha. I'd have remembered the sonnets.
Also, I so enjoyed Wilde's De Profundis, you tempted me into getting The Importance of Being Earnest (and other plays). Hilarious. It must be a wonderful play to watch.
If it's done well, "The Importance of Being Earnest" will have an audience in tears . . . happy, laughing tears, of course. And, I'm not just talking about an audience full of English majors. A regular, TV-watching gaggle of "everymen" can absolutely "get" the Wildean humor if it's conveyed correctly. In spite of the culture and customs of the play being a bit "alien" by modern American standards, the words, the dialogue, the situations . . . it's just plain funny, and it probably will remain so forever and wherever the thing is played.
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