The Saturday poem: August is Sonnet Month 1) with Dr Jonty Stewart on Shakespeare, sonnet 29

[nodbear]

TSP is back from holiday with a special sonnet month in which we will be focussing exclusively on the 14 line classic poem but in various versions and ages

Comments

[eglantine_br]

Thank you to Charlie, and Nodbear, and to Dr Stewart!

I have always wondered if the one one with the friends, art and scope was Marlowe. He certainly got success early and seemingly easily.  Kyd is another possible candidate for envy. Spanish Tragedy was crazy popular.

I sometimes think that these guys lived in a creative world kind of like the early days of TV, everything produced fast, for immediate staging, all the writers competing, sharing, arguing, and going for drinks after. Bet WS would have loved a martini!

I know the central mystery is who the beloved man is, in 29. But I have always wondered more about the art and scope guy. What do you all think?

[charliecochrane]

How interesting. About Marlowe, I mean. I've always assumed that those mean are generic, the men with art and scope, "this man" and "that man" meaning "somebody" but who knows with Will.

[nodbear]

who knows indeed ! that is what remains fun = and keeps Jonty's present day colleagues in port and claret ...

[nodbear]

Art and scope
sometimes said to be Edmund Spenser the former and Chapman the latter.
Chapman because of his translation of Homer (which in turn inpired Keat's sonnet 'ON First looking in to Chapman's Homer)
and Spenser could well be the former..

or just being generic about other artists/poets et al

mystery is good though ;)
sorry to have been slack here and on skype lately -
do you have any time tues/weds in the post 8pm time here,3pm yours ??

[eglantine_br]

Poor old WS, he had a lot of brilliant people to be comparing himself to...I would love to do Wednesday at 3.

[nodbear]

yes it was every bit the golden age !

wednesday it is then circa 3pm NY time- I will make a note in my diary to make sure I remember