The World of Shakespeare's Sonnets - by Robert Matz (Paperback)

About the Book

Of Shakespeare's sonnets we know the crystalline meter, exquisite diction, and exhilarating surprise of the "turn" in the final couplet. By contrast, we know very little of their subjects and motives. This book does not approach the sonnets as Shakespearean autobiography but instead delineates the customs that shaped the poet's world and thus his sonnets. It argues for understanding them as brilliant, edgy expressions of the equally brilliant, edgy culture of the English Renaissance.

Book Synopsis

Of Shakespeare's sonnets we know the crystalline meter, exquisite diction, and exhilarating surprise of the "turn" in the final couplet. By contrast, we know very little of their subjects and motives. This book does not approach the sonnets as Shakespearean autobiography but instead delineates the customs that shaped the poet's world and thus his sonnets. It argues for understanding them as brilliant, edgy expressions of the equally brilliant, edgy culture of the English Renaissance.

Review Quotes

"highly recommended"-Choice; "the book's timeliness is what makes it a valuable contribution to Shakespeare studies"-Pennsylvania Literary Journal; "In The World of Shakespeare's Sonnets, Robert Matz offers readers elegant guidance into the social and literary conventions that shape Shakespeare's poems and have influenced their reception over the past four hundred years. The book is especially astute in its reading of the sex-gender system, including its class and racial dimensions, in which Shakespeare conceived his fair young male beloved and his black mistress. This is the book I would recommend to any novice-and even to more experienced readers-approaching the sonnets."-Jonathan Goldberg, Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor, Department of English, Emory University; "Teachers and students alike will learn from Matz's accessible information and extensive research, and grow from the opportunity to participate in the 400-year conversation about Shakespeare's sonnets. In the end, we remember that we must connect the sonnets to Shakespeare's world in order to understand their connection to ours. This book will come in handy when I teach the sonnets."-Nichole Lehman, English Department, Chantilly High School, Chantilly, Virginia.

About the Author

Robert Matz is an associate professor of English at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.