Product Description

'The annotation is consistently thoughtful and well judged, giving plenty of precise help with lexical and syntactical problems, and offering valuable verbal and cultural analogues from contemporary literature'No edition of these difficult and controversial poems will command agreement at all points, but this must now be the edition of first resort'Paul Hammond, Review of English Studies'sharpens our focus on the documentary record of the Sonnets, and gives the best scholarly account yet of some of its words.'Alastair Fowler, Times Literary Supplement"The new edition...edited by Katherine Duncan Jones, is the clearest, most complete and up-to-date there is. She is the first editor for general readers not to mumble when dealing with the homoerotic aspect. Under her meticulous direction, the sequence opens out like a magical garden, its beauties enhanced, its mysterious prospects illuminated."Duncan Fallowell, The Independent'It is Duncan Jones's intention as scholar and critic to confront the issue of sexuality which Kerrigan and other editors have consistently side-stepped...Hers is an edition which uniquely makes the Sonnets issue from the body's moods as well as the mind's.' Tom Paulin, London Review of Books'This new edition, handsome, crisp in annotation, and rich in historical detail, shows that the Sonnets are effectively Shakespeare's life's work...Its most radical claim is not the familiar one that the poems are homosexual, but that Shakespeare authorised their publication.'Evening Standard

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30420 in Books
• Published on: 1997-08-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 504 pages

Customer Reviews

brilliant collection
This book is a must for anybody interested in sonnets and Shakespeare. You can pick this book up when you've got five minutes to spare and just read a couple of the sonnets. The book offers guidance for readers by providing notes and a commentary to each sonnet on the same page as the text. This makes the sonnets much more accessible for those of us who need a bit of help interpreting their meanings. It also indicates common links that exist between the different sonnets and refers to links between Shakespeare's sonnets and plays. The collection also includes a detailed (if not heavy) introduction that discusses the different context of Shakespeare's works. I would strongly advise any body (particularly students of English) to purchase this collection. However, it isn't just a collection for those who wish to study Shakespeare but I've found it a most enjoyable read.

Brilliant edition
Katherine Duncan-Jones provides very detailed and thorough notes for the sonnets, making your reading of them so much richer and more rewarding. I have discovered so much about Shakespeare himself and about the times in which he lived while reading all the annotated sonnets, it has been a fascinating discovery. There is also a very clear, and interesting introduction covering aspects such as authorship of the sonnets and themes. If you're serious about Shakespeare or just need clarification of the meaning of the sonnets, this book will do it beautifully.

Wonderful writing
As a student lucky enough to have studied quite a selection of Shakespeare's work, my respect for the man and his writing is immense. The sonnets offer the reader an opportunity to get into Shakespeare's head, to understand him and his relationships. Of course, little is known for sure about the context of the sonnets, the first section addressed to Shakespeare's lover known as "the young man" and suspected to be the Earl of Southampton, the second to the mysterious and unconventionally attractive "dark lady."

In my opinion, Shakespeare's writings about love are more beautiful, romantic and magical than any I have ever read. The sonnets are, perhaps disappointingly, not all beautiful and romantic. They reveal darkness and inner turmoil - jealousy, destruction, unhealthy and immoral, guilt-inducing indulgence. Shakespeare reveals his insecurity, and questions his role as poet and lover throughout the sonnets.

The sonnets are witty and beautifully written, crammed with naughty double-entendres (eg sonnet LXXV), grittily corporal images (LXXXI), rebellion against Petrarchan and contemporary conventions (CXXX), and simply beautiful writing on love (CXVI), and of course the immortal XVIII. The Arden edition is typically useful, with definitions and contextual information - great for students.