The Complete Sonnets of William Shakespeare: Part One (1 77), Full Audiobook with Text

Shakespeare s (15641616) sonnets are considered a continuation of the sonnet tradition that swept through the Renaissance from Petrarch in 14thcentury Italy and was finally introduced in 16thcentury England by Thomas Wyatt and was given its rhyming metre and division into quatrains by Henry Howard. Instead of expressing worshipful love for an almost goddesslike yet unobtainable female loveobject, as Petrarch, Dante, and Philip Sidney had done, Shakespeare introduces a young man. He also introduces the Dark Lady, who is no goddess. Shakespeare explores themes such as lust, homoeroticism, misogyny, infidelity, and acrimony in ways that may challenge, but which also open new terrain for the sonnet form. The primary source is a quarto published in 1609 titled Shakespeare s Sonnets. It contains 154 sonnets. Opening Credits 0:00 Sonnet 1 0:17 Sonnet 2 1:21 Sonnet 3 2:25 Sonnet 4 3:26 Sonnet 5 4:25 Sonnet 6 5:27 Sonnet 7 6:29 Sonnet 8 7:29