Shakespeare's Sonnets (Folger Shakespeare Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

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Key Phrases: Shakespeare's Sonnets

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Folger Shakespeare Library
The world's leading center for Shakespeare studies

• Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on the page facing each sonnet
• A brief introduction to each sonnet, providing insight into its possible meaning
• An index of first lines
• An essay by Professor Lynne Magnusson, a leading Shakespeare scholar, providing a modern perspective on the poems
• Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library's vast holdings of rare books

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs.

About the Author

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., is home to the world's largest collection of Shakespeare's printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. In addition to exhibitions open to the public throughout the year, the Folger offers a full calendar of performances and programs. For more information, visit www.folger.edu.

Barbara A. Mowat is Director of Academic Programs at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Editor of Shakespeare Quarterly, Chair of the Folger Institute, and author of The Dramaturgy of Shakespeare's Romances and of essays on Shakespeare's plays and on the editing of the plays.

Paul Werstine is Professor of English at King's College and the Graduate School of the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He is the author of many papers and articles on the printing and editing of Shakespeare's plays and was Associate Editor of the annual Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England from 1980 to 1989.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671722875
• ISBN-13: 978-0671722876
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #280,774 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Keeper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, June 13, 2004

By	JuniorReviewer (USA) - See all my reviews

I had fallen in love with Shakespeare's Sonnets since I was introduced to it in my freshman year. I'm no expert on Shakespeare, but this is the most wonderful edition of a Shakespeare's Sonnets book. Not only is the cover handsome,(something you'd be proud to carry along with you everywhere)it has excellent annotations(just enough to help you understand the sonnets but not so much that it bogs you down) and plus, in addition to all of that it is very low cost. Buy it, you won't regret it!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, December 7, 2004

By	RamMan03 "Rob" (Houston) - See all my reviews

The analysis given to Shakespeare's sonnets is immecable. The authors know what they are writing about. I particularly liked the introduction and the end of the book interpretation with the first words of each of the sonnets.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great poetry from the Bard of Avon, August 3, 2008

By	Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

One of my Amazon friends recently reviewed a compilation of "Shakespeare's Sonnets," edited by Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine. I regret to say that I have not attended to the Bard's sonnets in many a year. Recently, I read Bryson's sprightly biography of Shakespeare, and this--combined with my friend's review--sparked me to purchase this volume.

In the Editors' Preface, they note (Page ix): "This edition. . . reflects these current ways of thinking about Shakespeare." Their Introduction on "Shakespeare's Sonnets" provides nicely constructed context for the poems themselves. Editors notes that (Page xiii): "Few collections of poems--indeed, few literary works in general--intrigue, challenge, tantalize, and reward as do Shakespeare's Sonnets." The years in which the author produced these sonnets are described as (Page xxxii) ". . .among the most exciting in English history. . . "

But it is the poems themselves that are the heart of this. The Editors do a wonderful job of providing context, but--in the end--each reader must make of these works what they will.

Given my age, I do find this poignant (Sonnet 22):

"My glass shall not persuade me I am old
So long as youth and thou are of one date,
But when in thee Time's furrows I behold,
Then look I death my days should expiate."

One of my favorites (Sonnet 29):

"When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
I all alone beweep my outcast state. . . .
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising. . . ."

And (Sonnet 87):

"Farewell, thou art too dear for my possessing,
And like enough thou know'st thy estimate.
The charter of my worth gives thee releasing;
My bonds in thee are all determinate."

And so many others. . . . Shakespeare is not, of course, to everyone's taste. However, for those who enjoy the Bard's art, this is a wonderful version of his sonnets. Highly recommended!