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In the world of the sonnets, the convention of beauty played a major role. Writers would tell of their beloved’s beauty. In doing so, they sought to preserve the love they had for the beloved and make their poems a memorial of the beauty of their beloved. Through their use of word play, they were able to convey an image of beauty that represented the one they loved.
Writers would talk about how beautiful their beloved was and describe them using metaphor and similes. Also, they would sometimes try to make the one they loved seem to be something they were not by adding onto their beauty even though in reality the person might not be that way. Another thing was that they tended to use nature to portray their beloved and show that person’s splendor. The convention was also played with as the writer went with the world’s image of beauty which was conventional.
William Shakespeare was a sonneteer. As is seen throughout the majority of his work, he tended to “follow the crowd” in the themes he chose to write about. At the same time, he chose to stand apart by adding his special twist to the subject that was popular. One subject that was in style was the convention of the writer telling of his beloved’s beauty. Shakespeare uses this convention and adds his own take on beauty. This is seen in his writings on the beauty of a man and the dark lady.
Shakespeare was unique in that he wrote his poems of “love” to a man. Though many have tried to name the person behind the poem, in the end it is left to basic speculation and opinion. It is undeniable thought that Shakespeare wrote Sonnets 1-126 to a man. This is seen in his Sonnet 33, “Yet him for this my love no whit disdaineth” (line 13). In his writings, the normal sonnet theme of love and beauty is portrayed just as the other sonneteers during his time used it to portray their love to their beloved.
One way Shakespeare depicts his beloved is through the use of perseverance. He uses the theme...