Category: Sonnets

Memorizing and reciting Shakespeare’s sonnets is a valuable exercise in language, memory, and performance. It allows one to explore the complexities of the English language while also gaining an appreciation for the power of Shakespeare’s words. Additionally, performing Shakespeare’s sonnets can help develop public speaking and communication skills, as well as an understanding of the emotional depth and universal themes of the human experience. By committing the sonnets to memory and reciting them aloud, one can connect with the language in a deeply personal way and gain a greater appreciation for the beauty and complexity of Shakespeare’s poetry. Overall, memorizing and reciting Shakespeare’s sonnets is a rewarding endeavor that can enrich one’s understanding of language, literature, and the human condition.

The Universe Loves Me And Is Trying To Kill Me

~ duane ~ Leave a comment

EDIT: I just realized that the beer post isn’t scheduled to go out until tomorrow.  Was everybody confused?  🙂 

And I’m ok with it.

I’ve written about how last week not one but two separate coworkers sought me out to tell me about a Shakespeare-branded beer (“ShakesBeer“).  We’re still on the hunt for that one.

This morning a different coworker tells me, “I got this chocolate bar at the supermarket that had some sort of Shakespeare quote on it. I took a picture of it for you, but it’s on my wife’s phone.”

I’m intrigued.  I knew about the beer, but the chocolate was new to me.  I googled around, found some random novelty items, and told him, “Sounds like one of those independent brands you find at Whole Foods.  Never heard of it.  But definitely tell me more!”

While waiting for his wife to get back to him I decide to throw the question out to the Twitterverse, noting that “some sort of Shakespeare quote on it” actually meant “a sonnet inside the wrapper” which is even cooler.

Twitter delivered.  Both @magpiewhale and @katep08 said that he’s surely talking about Chocolove, adding that “this brand is delicious.”

“That’s it!” says my boss.  Then he sends me this picture that he’s googled, since we have a name now:

I’m crushed.  “That’s not Shakespeare,” I tell him after reading about four words.

“I guess each one has a different poem,” he tells me.

Well, now the hunt is on.  Their website has a “find a location” section and sure enough, it’s exactly what I suspected originally – straight to Whole Foods for me!

Success!

They actually have at least half a dozen flavors, but most of them were dark chocolate and I’m not as much of a fan.  But I’m probably going to make multiple trips, who am I kidding.  I swear I felt like the kid in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, peeling open the wrapper slowly to unveil the golden ticket inside.

But did I get a Shakespeare or not?!  The suspense!I did!  Sonnet 24, to be precise.

A joyous day to be sure.  The chocolate is pretty good, but I felt twelve kinds of guilty eating it, so noting that I was only in it for the Shakespeare, I put the rest out for my coworkers. One of whom, also a Shakespeare fan, examined the outer wrapper and announced, “It doesn’t say Shakespeare anywhere on the outside. What do they think, I’m going to spend good money for Keats?!” 🙂

And yes, I have a shrine of Shakespeare action figures and bobble heads on my desk at work. Doesn’t everybody?

P.S. – Last week beer, this week chocolate.  I can’t tell if the universe loves me or is trying to kill me. Either way I’m ok with it, I’m going down happy.

P.P.S – Also!  These are apparently part of the Whole Foods / Amazon Prime program, if that’s available in your area.  So if you’ve done whatever soul selling thing you do to let Whole Foods know you’re a Prime member, you can get them at a significant discount.  In my neck of the woods it was $3.19 for a single bar but would have been $4.00 for 2 bars if I had my accounts linked.

 

The Great Shakespeare Book Scavenger Hunt

~ duane ~ 4 Comments

So a funny thing happened on the way to the Folger Library this week.

As you may have seen on other social media channels, my family and I are in Washington D.C. for a couple of days and were lucky enough to visit the Folger Library again, having been there six years ago.  I knew that even if we did not manage to arrange a tour, I could at least take the kids back to get some pictures outside.  They were pretty young at the time and I’m not sure what they remember.

So I was quite surprised when we were cruising through the various museums of the Smithsonian and in one of the gift shops my middle daughter said, “Nope, I’m saving my souvenir for Folger, I know exactly what I want.”  I assumed that she just wanted a Shakespeare something, and hinted strongly to her that we have a lot of Shakespeare somethings already.

Turns out she actually remembers seeing a book in the gift shop the first time we were there.  Apparently, and I do slightly remember this, I told her that the book was too old for her. Well, it’s six years later and she’s making a beeline for that book.

Only problem?  Folger Library gift shop is closed on Monday.

So now the dad thing kicks in, and I’ve gotta get her that book.  I checked the online version of Folger’s shop and saw nothing obvious.  It’s quite possible that they no longer carry it, or even that it is no longer in print.  I asked my daughter for more details, and here’s what she told me:

“All his romance sonnets. Very nice cover no pictures sorta paintings. Maybe roses.”

Let the hunt begin.  Anybody able to find a volume of the sonnets (may or may not be all the sonnets or just a selection, may include other works) with a cover that, to a six year old memory, is “sorta paintings, maybe roses, very nice.”

 

Shakespeare’s Sonnets : With 300 Years Of Commentary

~ duane ~ 1 Comment

I recently received a press release for Carl Atkins’ new book, Shakespeare’s Sonnets : With Three Hundred Years of Commentary.  This isn’t just another printing of the collection, this is a hefty volume that attempts to pull together and collate 17 different “scholarly editions” of the sonnets in order to compare the differences between them. Most interesting to me is that the sonnets are all published with the original spellings and punctuation in tact.  There’s even a sample file available weighing in a 78 pages, including all 154 sonnets in their original form (just none of the commentary, that’s what the book’s for). If you’re a fan of the sonnets and looking for some in depth discussion about, quite literally, every last character Shakespeare wrote, this might be the book for you.  I think I might debate the web page where it says that this is a book for everyone, including those who are getting their first time exposure to the sonnets.  It’s hard enough to read Shakespeare without every word being spelled wrong!