2. Sisterhood, Shame, and Redemption in Cat’s Eye and King Lear

CONCLUSION

In the VENUS AND ADONIS, the first and mostobviousexcellenceistheperfectsweetnessoftheversification; itsadaptationtothesubject;andthepowerdisplayedinvaryingthemarchofthewordswithoutpassinginto a loftierandmoremajesticrhythmthanwasdemandedbythethoughts, orpermittedbytheproprietyofpreserving a senseofmelodypredominant. Thedelightinrichnessandsweetnessofsound,evento a faultyexcess, ifitbeevidentlyoriginal, andnottheresultofaneasilyimitablemechanism, I regardas a highlyfavourablepromiseinthecompositionsof a youngman. Themanthathathnotmusicinhissoulcanindeedneverbe a genuinepoet. Imagery,--(eventakenfromnature,muchmorewhentransplantedfrombooks, astravels, voyages, andworksofnaturalhistory),--affectingincidents, justthoughts, interestingpersonalordomesticfeelings, andwiththesetheartoftheircombinationorintertextureintheformof a poem,--mayallbyincessanteffortbeacquiredas a trade, by a manoftalentandmuchreading, who, as I oncebeforeobserved, hasmistakenanintensedesireofpoeticreputationfora aturalpoeticgenius; theloveofthearbitraryendfor a possessionofthepeculiarmeans. Butthesenseofmusicaldelight, withthepowerofproducingit, is a giftofimagination; andthistogetherwiththepowerofreducingmultitudeintounityofeffect, andmodifying a seriesofthoughtsbysomeonepredominantthoughtorfeeling, maybecultivatedandimproved, butcanneverbelearned. Itisinthesethat "poetanasciturnonfit."Modernreadersassociatethesonnetformwithromanticloveandwithgoodreason: thefirstsonnetswritteninthirteenth- andfourteenthcenturyItalycelebratedthepoets’ feelingsfortheirbelovedsandtheirpatrons. Thesesonnetswereaddressedtostylized, lionizedwomenanddedicatedtowealthynoblemen, whosupportedpoetswithmoneyandothergifts, usuallyinreturnforloftypraiseinprint. Shakespearededicatedhissonnetsto “Mr. W. H.,” andtheidentityofthismanremainsunknown. Hededicatedanearliersetofpoems, VenusandAdonisandRapeofLucrece, toHenryWriothesly, earlofSouthampton,butit’snotknownwhatWriotheslygavehimforthishonor. Incontrasttotradition, Shakespeareaddressedmostofhissonnetstoanunnamedyoungman, possiblyWriothesly. Addressingsonnetsto a youngmanwasuniqueinElizabethanEngland. Furthermore, Shakespeareusedhissonnetstoexploredifferenttypesoflovebetweentheyoungmanandthespeaker, theyoungmanandthedarklady, andthedarkladyandthespeaker. Inhissequence, thespeakerexpressespassionateconcernfortheyoungman, praiseshisbeauty, andarticulateswhatwewouldnowallhomosexualdesire. ThewomanofShakespeare’ssonnets, thesocalleddarklady, is earthy, sexual, andfaithless—characteristicsindirectoppositiontoloversdescribedinothersonnetsequences,includingAstrophilandStella, by Sir PhilipSidney, a contemporary of Shakespeare, whowerepraisedfortheirangelicdemeanor, virginity, andsteadfastness. Severalsonnetsalsoprobethenatureoflove, comparing

theidealzedlovefoundinpoemswiththemessy, complicatedlovefoundinreallife. Thepoemisaimedat a sophisticated, aristocraticandintellectualaudienceandpresentscontrastingideasaboutlove. Bothcharactersspeakinaphorismsasdoesthenarrator. Itexhibits acharacteristicallyOvidianblendofironyandpathos. Itutilizesmanyrhetoricaldevices: parison (parallelphrases), isocolon (phrasesofequallengthandgrammar), antimetabole (phrasesrepeatedininvertedorder),epanalepsis (phrasesrepeatedatthebeginningandendingoftheline),etc.Generalcommentsonsomeofthesesubjectsfollow. A wordofcautionisinorderfirst. Onecanreadilyidentifypossiblesubjectsforessayquestions, andyoushouldbepreparedtoansweronanyofthese.Thisisnotthesameaswritingoutanessayyouhavepreparedbeforetheexam (always a foolishidea). Questionswillbewordedsoastomakethisdifficult, andtomakeitobviousifyoudoit: examinerslikeorganizedanswersbutdislikethe “preparedessay”. Takeyourtimetoeadbothalternativequestionscarefully. Itisveryoftenthecasethat aquestionwhichlookshard, becauseofitswording, isstraightforwardinrealitywhile a questionwhichlookssimple, rarelyis! Orderanddisorderis a favouritethemeoftheplaywright. Inthisplaytheapparentlyanarchictendenciesoftheyounglovers, ofthemechanicals-as-actors.Shakespeare, likemanysonneteers, portraystimeasanenemyoflove.Timedestroyslovebecausetimecausesbeautytofade, peopletoage,andlifetoend. Onecommonconventionofsonnetsingeneralistoflattereither a belovedor a patronbypromisingimmortalitythroughverse. Asongasreadersreadthepoem, theobjectofthepoem’slovewillremainalive. InShakespeare’sSonnet 15, thespeakertalksofbeing “inwarwithtime” (13): timecausestheyoungman’sbeautytofade, butthespeaker’sverseshallentombtheyoungmanandkeephimbeautiful.
Thespeakerbeginsbypleadingwithtimeinanothersonnet, yetheendsbytauntingtime, confidentlyassertingthathisversewillcounteracttime’sravages. Fromourcontemporaryvantagepoint, thespeakerwascorrect, andarthasbeatentime: theyoungmanremainsyoungsincewecontinuetoreadofhisyouthinShakespeare’ssonnets.Throughart,natureandbeautyovercometime. Severalsonnetsusetheseasonstosymbolizethepassageoftimeandtoshowthateverythinginnature—fromplantstopeople—ismortal. Butnaturecreatesbeauty, whichpoetscaptureandrenderimmortalintheirverse. Sonnet 106 portraysthespeakerreadingpoemsfromthepastandrecognizinghisbeloved’sbeautyportrayedtherein. Thespeakerthensuggeststhattheseearlierpoetswereprophesizingthefuturebeautyoftheyoungmanbydescribinthebeautyoftheircontemporaries. Inotherwords, pastpoetsdescribedthebeautifulpeopleoftheirdayand, likeShakespeare’sspeaker,perhapsurgedthesebeautifulpeopletoprocreateandsoon, throughthepoeticages, untilthebirthoftheyoungmanportrayedinShakespeare’ssonnets. Inthisway—thatis, asbeautifulpeopleofonegenerationproducemorebeautifulpeopleinthesubsequentgenerationandasallthisbeautyiswrittenaboutbypoets—nature, art, andbeautytriumphovertime.