NOTE: see the close reading of Sonnet 15 in the post below, which gives you some hints about how to read these poems, and what to take note of. Remember, don't read it like a novel--listen to the sounds, look at the metaphors, puzzle over the syntax. It's like listening to any song: first you hear the music, then you get stuck on the chorus, then you think about the lyrics, then you see how it all fits together. Don't expect to "get it" at once. A reason why these poems might seem so repetitive is so Shakespeare can 'teach' you to read them, so that once you get the general theme, you can then be aware of the small changes and variations within.
Q1: Only ONE question for today, but about any TWO Sonnets. Choose two sonnets from the series 21-41 that you feel are very similar but offer some slight change between them. Close read them to explain what both are generally saying, and how one of them twists the meaning/experience in a different light. What changes? Is it who the poet is speaking to? What he wants from him? The nature of their relationship? The way he understands it? Etc.
Think too about how these poems relate to Sappho...you can always use ideas from Sappho (theory!) to help you read these poems. Ultimately, these poems are very similar to Sappho, as they are about someone older/wiser who is trying to teach someone younger/more beautiful, and how this relationship is doomed to fail. So think about how a poem might remind you of one of Sappho's fragments and how this can help you read it.
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