Essay on the Rival Poet from Shakespeares Sonnets -- Sonnet essays

Identifying of the impact Poet from Shakespeares Sonnets One of the intriguing aspects of Shakespeares Sonnets is the identity of the principal characters within them, the teen Man, the Dark Lady, and the relate Poet. Nowhere are these people explicitly determine and their anonymity has spawned much debate as to who these people could have been. The fill of the Sonnets that refer to these people however, undoubtedly show that these were indeed truly people. The Rival Poet was the cause of obvious anxiety to Shakespeare. A poet depended on patronage to finance the publication of his works so a rival presents a real threat of loss of income through loss of patronage as sound as the professional and personal feelings of rejection, loss of esteem and a competitor being seen to gain favour instead of oneself. The sonnets that refer to the Rival Poet come forth to contain sufficient data to enable the rival to be place The Rival Poet who writes compose is first mention ed in Sonnet 21 "So is it not with me as with that muse Stirred by a mixed beauty to his verse" and goes on to say "Making a couplement of idealistic compare" This part of the sonnet is open to several interpretations but it may be explicitly referring to George Chapmans use of English couplet rhymes in his epic poem translation of Homers Odysseys "The Gods in council sit, to call Ulysses from Calypsos thrall, And order their high pleasures thus greyish Pallas to Telemachus (In Ithaca) her way addrest And did her heavenly limbs invest..." The heavenly subject matter of Chapmans verse would appear to correlate with Sonnet 21s "Who heaven itself for ornament doth use" The fin... ...f the Sonnets, thither was a group of poets called The School of Night, also called The School of Atheisme in a 1592 reference, that was led by Raleigh and included Marlowe and Chapman. This group is apparently parodied in Loves Labours Lost King &q uotBlack is the badge of hell, The hue of dungeons and the school of nighttime And beautys crest becomes the heavens strong." Chapman also wrote a verse named The Shadow of Night whose title and subject matter fits in well with Chapmans involvement with this group. Finally, George Chapman did write verse dedicated to the Earl of Southampton who was also Shakespeares patron. Although the identity of the Rival Poet is not conclusive, the material within the Rival Poet sonnets and the contemporary activity of George Chapman does, in my view, converge to point to George Chapman being the man.