It is asserted that ambiguity characterizes the poet’s feelings but not his language. The understanding of the poem pierces into the youth’s double nature and character. Helen Vendler comments that Shakespeare “has only obligated himself to portray the feelings of his protagonist in that time and situation” (17). There is a declaration of love from one man to another, and who the man is speaking to. It could be too far-reaching to pronounce that the poet wants to possess the youth physically.

All of Shakespeare’s sonnets except sonnet 145 are in iambic pentameter. It should be noted that a couplet is always indented both lines rhyme at the end. Because there are 5 feet in a line, all iambic, the meter of the line is iambic pentameter.

A foot containing an unstrained syllable followed by a stressed syllable is called an iamb. Each pair of unstressed and stressed syllables makes up a unit called afoot. Meter is a recurring pattern of stressed (accented or long) and unstressed (unaccented or short) syllables in lines of a set length.

The sonnet is unique as it exclusively ends in feminine rhymes – that is, end rhymes of at least two syllables with the final syllable unstressed. Of course, such varied interpretations could be the product of autobiographical research in the area. The closing couplet ties with the theme of Platonic love and carnal lust. In the literal sense, the poet’s master is having control over him, and in the figurative sense, the Lord is both male and female. In the first quatrain, the fair lord is treated as feminine and has been interpreted both in the literal sense and figurative sense. It has the largest bodies of criticism than any other sonnet. Analysis of sonnet 20Īn in-depth analysis of sonnet 20 reveals that it stirs the most critical controversy and remains the perfect battleground for scholarly interpretation. They are more earthy and sexual than contemporary sequences. The themes in his sonnets range from love, beauty, politics to mortality. Sonnets 127 -152 are reflective of an unfaithful and seductive lady. Bruno Leone asserts, “The poet must posses creative techniques and artistry to effectively compose a sonnet.”(38) Shakespeare has to his credit 154 sonnets wherein sonnets 1 – 26 are devoted to a beautiful young man. Perhaps the area where he has been diversely interpreted is in his Sonnets – a fourteen-line lyric with the rhyme –scheme abab cdcd efef gg (a set of three quatrains and a couplet). Shakespeare remains the undisputed monarch in the history of English Literature due to his unparalleled contribution in the various genres.

Sonnet 71 iambic pentameter