About...The following poems are divided into three sections: the works of Queen Elizabeth I, the pairing poems and the sonnet sequences.
Some things to be aware of when reading Queen Elizabeth’s works is word choice and audience. Who was she speaking to? In her speech to her troupes she says, “I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and a king of England too”. Elizabeth is arguing that she as a Queen can rule as well as a king. Consider why that is so important. Why are the pairing poems paired such? Some of these poems are written as translations of earlier poems. Pay special attention to these and consider if the translation is done well and what theme both poems are addressing. Ponder the lines “My two usual sweet stars are hidden; dead among the waves are reason and skill; so that I begin to despair of the port.” (Petrarch 9-10) and “Drowned is reason that should me consort/And I remain despairing of the port” (Wyatt line 13-14). Wyatt’s poem is a later translation. Does he do a good interpretation of the theme/lines? Be aware when reading the sonnets that Sydney and Shakespeare follow different rhyme schemes and meters. How does this affect how we read the sonnets? Are Sydney and Shakespeare trying to accomplish the same thing and talk about a beloved or is something more? How do the couplets at the end of Shakespeare’s sonnets affect how we interpret the sonnet? Consider the couplet “And yet by heaven, I think my love as rare,/As any she belied with false compare” in sonnet 130 and then read the sonnet. STudy GuideThere's a study guide for 16th-Century Lyric due. See CSC Online to access it.
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