Shakespeare's Sonnets... Love 'em or hate 'em

I love 'em! I can't read more than 10 in a row or I go on overload (like when you have too much sugar), but I'm in the process of reading them straight through... again. Read in order, they really do tell a story, and individually they have the power to resonate (I'm particularly affected by LXI right now).

Anyhow, I haven't seen a Shakespeare thread on here... just had to start the conversation. Your thoughts?

hmm... I never took that one to be egotistical. Just the opposite in fact... I think that's one of the few sonnets where he's not arrogant and full of himself.

::shrug:: That's one of the things I love about poetry... everyone can get something different out of a piece and no one can be wrong.

::shrug:: Since no one 100% knows who Shakespeare was, I can't say... but wouldn't that be a wonderful irony?

I had to memorize "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" in high school... and I loved it! Then, when I read the sonnets in order, it took on kind of a creepy tone. It's in the middle of all these sonnets where he's first railing that his lover is with another person, and then telling them to go have a child with said person so that a "copy" of them remains in the world. The guy was obsessed (at least in the earlier sonnets) with preserving beauty...

I'll have to check out that edition... it sounds like fun! I have Rolfe's right now... obviously I like it, but it would be neat to see the original text.