Reading Shakespeare''s Poetry

A lively exploration of Shakespeares poems and how they speak to readers

Reading Shakespeares Poetry presents a fresh interpretation of Shakespeares non-dramatic poems, providing insights into the individual poems, their themes and composition, and their relation to the cultural context of Shakespeares world. Dympna Callaghan considers what makes Shakespeares language poetic and shows how his poetry is comprised not only of lyrical intensity but also of the language of everyday life.

Presented chronologically, lucidly-written chapters examine Venus and Adonis, Lucrece, The Phoenix and the Turtle, the Sonnets, and A Lovers Complaint. Special attention is paid to the distinctive ways in which lineation, rhyme, verse forms, and meter serve to delineate or erase the boundaries of Shakespeares poetry. Throughout the book, the author explains how Shakespeares language is influenced by predecessors such as Ovid and Petrarch while highlighting how ideas about the social and cultural function of poetry permeate Shakespeares works.

• Offers an eminently readable yet scholarly exploration of the literary importance of Shakespeares poems
• Explains the technical features of Shakespeares poetic language
• Addresses the significance of the material form in which Shakespeares poems appear
• Includes a discussion of songs, poems, and sonnets embedded in Shakespeares dramatic verse

Reading Shakespeares Poetry is both a fresh and indispensable guide to the poems and a significant critical intervention. This is a must-have book for scholars, students, and general readers alike.