I think that is true for many things in the arts. Once I understood what composers were trying to do with symphonies, all of this random music seemed to make sense. I listened to an hour lecture on Beethoven 5th, and went from being very bored by music that i thought was just overplayed to being able to understand why it is considered genuis. It is now one of my alltime favorite pieces of music, and not because you are "supposed" to like it but because I understand it. Otherwise, blah.sighyoung wrote:Remember that it's a sonnet--follow the rhyme scheme.
Sonnets often state a problem (whether about a loved one, or a social problem), and attempt to work through the solution during the course of the poem. (A sonnet reflects a mind at work, searching for a solution.)
Shakespearean sonnets are divided into four parts: three four-line sets (abab cdcd efef) and a final couplet (gg). Additionally sonnets have turns (or voltas) in which the mind turns from reflecting upon a problem, toward the achieved solution (or, at least, some conclusion about the problem).
In Shakespearean sonnets, the volta (or turn) from problem to solution (or acceptance) usually takes place after the first three quatrains (between lines twelve and thirteen). (This sonnet is slightly different, but don't worry about that for now.)
Mind you, you can't solve many twelve-line problems with a two-line solution--all you can do is be a smart ass. And that's what Shakespearean sonnets are known for--witty (or smart-ass) comments on the task at hand.
****But remember that poems aren't just about the subject at hand--sonnets allude to (are in conversation with) other sonnets. Writers write sonnets not only because of the form, but because they are talking back to/interpreting/ prior sonnets. So Shakespeare's sonnet is not only about a loved one, but about sonnet writing and appropriate ways to write about love and desire.
To understand what Shakespeare is up to, it helps to know how Shakespeare is responding to prior love sonnets (including those written by his contemporaries). Essentially, Shakespeare's sonnet takes up a standard challenge for poets of the time--how can I show off my wit while describing your beauty and my desire? This sonnet takes a different tack, deflating the artificial comparisons of the day. I'll comment more fully when I have time.
The sonnet you've quoted has some misspelled words, which makes reading it more difficult. Later, I'll try to find a more accurate version of the poem, though.
Well, I'll shut up for now. And don't worry--it's fine not to like it. But it's useful to know what's going on in the poem, too.
I don't get poetry, but I have to admit that the poem I was helping my son with made a heckuva lot more sense after I read your explanation on the sonnett form.