8-4Poetry

Shakespeare is one of the world's most recognized writers. His poems and works are recognized throughout the world as literary genius. When we hear Shakespeare's name, we think not of his works of poetry, but rather is famous pieces of theatre. He actually wrote many hundreds of poems on various subjects. One of his most famous poetry works was a poem entitled "A Lover's Complaint". This work tells the story of an elderly man who happens upon a young lady hurling rings and ripped-up letters into the river whilst sobbing uncontrollably. She tells the elderly man how a man pursued, seduced, then abandoned her. In the final stanza of the poem (pictured below), we learn that the heart sick young lady would fall for his charms again, if only she could see him again. Here is a snippet of this poem, "A Lover's Complaint":
 * What is Shakespeare's body of work of poetry? What are considered to be his most important poems?**
 * //Question prepared by Ben W.//**

//O that infected moisture of his eye,////O that false fire which in his cheek so glow'd,////O that forc'd thunder from his heart did fly,////O that sad breath his spongy lungs bestow'd,////O all that borrowed motion seemingly ow'd,// //Would yet again betray the fore-betray'd,////And new pervert a reconciled maid!//

Another of his poems, "The Phoenix and The Turtle", is very well-known. It tells the tragic story of a phoenix and a turtle dove who were so perfectly and idyllically in love, but who both passed away.The last few stanzas conclude the poem with grievances and the death of love and its steadfast passage into the next life. Here are the last stanzas from "The Phoenix and The Turtle":

//BEAUTY, truth, and rarity, Grace in all simplicity, Here enclosed in cinders lie.

Death is now the phoenix' nest; And the turtle's loyal breast To eternity doth rest,

Leaving no posterity: 'Twas not their infirmity, It was married chastity.

Truth may seem, but cannot be; Beauty brag, but 'tis not she; Truth and beauty buried be.

To this urn let those repair That are either true or fair; For these dead birds sigh a prayer. //

His poems "Venus and Adonice" ( a poem in which Adonice rejects sexual advances proposed by Venus) and "The Rape of Lucrece" (an upstanding wife, Lucrece is raped by her lusty husband) even ventured into the gauche realm of erotica. Two reccurring themes in all of shakespeare's poetic works are love and lust, and both the pleasures and tragedies that can develop from both. Love can bring the most euphoric feelings if it lasts and flourishes- but if it does not work out, love can bring the lowest, most lamentable, depressing feelings. Everyone has experiences with love in their lifetime- perhaps shakespeare chose to write so frequently of it because he knew even "simpler folk" could relate to it. Perhaps, even, he had a few sour experiences with love himself.

Shakespeare also has many famous sonnets-fourteen line poems with a very strict rhyme scheme and structure. The majority of his sonnets were published in 1609 in a book called __Shake-Speares Sonnets__. A recurring theme throughout the book is love. Shakespeare often twists the roles of the genders in the relationships, and even refers to homosexuality- leading us to believe that he had a very satirical view of human love. Although we may never pinpoint the inspiration for Shakespeare's works, his poems will forever be regarded with the utmost veneration.

Works Cited Unknown Author, "William Shakespeare Poems." 12 Mar 2009 [].

Unknown Author, "Shakespeare's poems at Absolute Shakespeare." Web. 2 Apr 2009. .