Shakespeare's sonnet 78. True love and its positive effects on writing (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Potsdam (Anglistik), course: Shakespeare's Sonnets, language: English, abstract: Sonnet 78 is taken from the collection of "Shakespeare's sonnets" according to Duncan Jones probably dedicated to William Herbert (Duncan Jones, 85). It is the first sonnet of the group of the rival sonnets running from Sonnet 78 to 86 (Duncan Jones, 65). A common aspect in these sonnets is that rival poets challenge the poet in his poetry for the young man's favour. A subtheme in the rival poet series is the poet's expression of love, balanced against the artistic style of others. It will therefore be interesting to have a closer look at how the lyrical speaker tries to win the fight for the young man's affection over his rivals in this particular sonnet and which strategies he applies to prove that, despite his inferior talent, he is worthier than his rivals.

By responding to these questions, there will be given evidence for the thesis that the speaker's superiority to his contestants lies in his honest affection to his beloved. The young man thus being supposed to value the poet's lines not for their outmoded "style" but for the love they express.