English Literature. Analysis of Popular Tales, Stories and Poems

Shakespeare is the greatest playwright in England and probably even the whole world. His contribution to literature is immense. He was born in 1564 and died in 1616.
The last half of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries are known as the golden age of English literature. It was the time of English Renaissance, and sometimes it is even called the age of Shakespeare. This period represents a unique chapter in English history. It was a period of great changes. The last remains of the feudal system were being wiped out. England was united under one king and became a powerful state. Towns developed, science industry and trade flourished.
The sonnet was perfected in Italy in the 14th century by Petrarch. It was introduced into England in the 16th century and became fashionable there. Shakespeare and much later Milton raised this form to a great poetic height. The sonnet is a poem of 14 lines, written in iambic pentameter. Each line has 10 syllables with stress on every other syllable.
Shakespeare's sonnets can't be placed among his best works; only a few of them may be placed among the best English sonnets in general; but they occupy a unique place in Shakespeare's literary heritage, because they are his only lyrical pieces.
Originally published in 1609, the sonnets of William Shakespeare are 154 poems that scholars believe were written in the 1590s. Conjecture continues on several points – the sequence of composition, whether the sonnets have a chronological and thematic order, and the identity of the people addressed. It would be wiser to treat the sonnet sequence just as a story written in verse without trying to probe too deeply into the real life facts behind it.
The three main characters are the Poet, his Friend, and the Dark lady. The Poet expresses the warmest admiration for the Friend, almost prostrating himself before him. Some of his words may seem exaggerated to us, but at that time it was customary to express one's friendship in a most ardent manner unusual in our days. The Dark Lady is the beloved of the Poet; unlike the idealised ladies in the sonnets of Petrarch and his followers, she is false and vicious, but the Poet, though aware of the fact, can't help loving her. Then comes the tragedy: the Friend and the Dark Lady betray the Poet. By reading between the lines of the sonnets, we may see a tragedy in Shakespeare's life, a tragedy which he might not have fully understood himself. Despite the author's intention, we see that the Poet's Friend, who is praised with such great feeling, is shallow, cruel and lying. And so in the sonnets we may see the great misfortune of a genius who wasted his life and his soul for the sake of persons unworthy of him. …