SEMINAR PROFILE

H21 -
Shakespeare's Sonnets

How can we best read and teach Shakespeare's sonnets? Why did Shakespeare write these poems and how did he alter the poetic tradition he inherited? We will begin by looking at earlier practitioners of the sonnet form in Renaissance England, Wyatt, Surrey, and Sidney, in order both to understand the conventions that Shakespeare was using and to gauge how innovative his poetry was. Our close readings will be complemented by attention to the social, sexual, political, and religious contexts that inform these poems.

Scholar:

Ramie Targoff

Location:

Harvard Hillel

Dates:

1/14/2009, 1/21/2009

H21 -	Shakespeare's Sonnets

	How can we best read and teach Shakespeare's sonnets? Why did Shakespeare write these poems and how did he alter the poetic tradition he inherited? We will begin by looking at earlier practitioners of the sonnet form in Renaissance England, Wyatt, Surrey, and Sidney, in order both to understand the conventions that Shakespeare was using and to gauge how innovative his poetry was. Our close readings will be complemented by attention to the social, sexual, political, and religious contexts that inform these poems.

		Scholar:	Ramie Targoff
		Location:	Harvard Hillel
		Dates:	1/14/2009, 1/21/2009