Shakespeare and his sonnets, or at least all of the sonnets that are included in the Norton Anthology give there reader a chance to look into the mind of a man who left behind numerous pieces of his life in poetic form. Interestingly in this quote from the biography that precedes the sonnets, "Shakespeare himself apparently had no interest in preserving for posterity the sum of his writings"(page 1059), stands in contrast to the themes of the first of his sonnets. However, not only does it contrast the themes , but it's interesting that without even trying many of his works survive to this day.
The Norton Anthology states that the first 17 of Shakespeare's sonnets, of which only 4 are given, "celebrate the beauty of a young man and urges him to bear children"(page 1061). With lines like "Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother. For where is she so fair whose uneared womb Disdains the tillage of thy hunsbandry"(lines 4-6) in sonnet 3, the wish of the speaker that young man in these lines of poetry father children is obvious. He further warns the young man of the consequences of death in the final couplet by saying "But if thou live rememb'red not to be, Die single, and thine image dies with thee"(lines 13-14). The speaker's meaning appears quite clear initially, through all 4 of the sonnets, each seeming to echo and reinforce the necessity of fatherhood and giving the penalty for not pursing that goal.
However, the 15th sonnet appears to change things slightly, and after careful reading begs the reader to take another look at the previous sonnets. In the 15th sonnet, the speaker likens the world to a stage, and seems at first to be continuing on the same trend as his previous sonnets. However, upon more careful reading, the sonnet can just as easily be compared to a the life of an actual play, like the ones Shakespeare is famous for. Could not these first few sonnets relate to a child of the mind, like a play, as to a child of the body?
"That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows,
Whereon the stars in secret influence comment;
When I perceive that men as plants increase,
Cheered and checked even by the selfsame sky,
Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,
And wear heir brave state out of memory;
Then the conceit of this inconstant stay
Sets you most rich in youth before my sight
Where wasteful Time debateth with decay
to change your day of youth to sullied night
And all in war with time for love of you,
As he takes from you I ingraft you new."(lines 3-14).
A Stage performance has a "day of youth'(line 12), when they are watched by all, and are just a easily decayed into "sullied night" as fewer and fewer people come to watch it. Perhaps to Shakespeare, as the sonnets writer, the time a play is "most rich in youth"(line 10) is after the manuscript is finished and the debut performance is soon to come. These lines can create the possibility that the speaker is referring to two kinds of children simultaneously if read carefully enough. When the speaker says he will "ingraft you new"(line 14) he could just as easily be creating a new play to be performed as he could be trying to father a child. The "stars" that "secretly influence comment"(line 4) could be the desires of the people or the nobles and the effect they have on stories a playwright must make. Line 5 which follows seems to emphasize the fact that its the cheers of the people that determine how long a play will live, one that receives no cheers is essentially a stillborn child of the mind.
Even though the meaning of the 4 sonnets at the beginning in the anthology seem obvious, perhaps there is more to them than is seen at first glance. After re-reading the previous three sonnet with this new knowledge, the same argument could be made for parts of them, different ideas can be mated together to form a new one just as a child is born from two different parents. People can leave ideas behind for the world to remember them by just as easily as they can leave children to carry their legacy.
Is it possible that Shakespeare means more than just the obvious with these sonnets? What do you as readers think about this interpretation I have come up with, is it feasible or impossible? Let me know what you think.
I think your interpretation definitely makes a certain sense. I'm paraphrasing, here, but the Norton Anthology says something to the effect of "these are poems that richly reward re-reading." My interpretation may differ here and there from yours, but that's part of the joy of reading this kind of poetry: the interpretation is, in many ways, up to the reader's close interpretation of the text.
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