Shakespeare’s Sonnets

Shakespeare’s Sonnets

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Shakespeare’s Sonnets episodes

  • Sonnet 044: If the dull substance of my flesh were thought
    If the dull substance of my flesh were thought,
    Injurious distance should not stop my way;
    For then despite of space I would be brought,
    From limits far remote, where thou dost stay.
    No matter then although my foot did stand
    Upon the farthest earth remov’d from thee;
    For nimble thought can jump both sea and land,
    As soon as think the place where he would be.
    But, ah! thought kills me that I am not thought,
    To leap large lengths of miles when thou art gone,
    But that so much of earth and water wrought,
    I must attend time’s leisure with my moan;
    Receiving nought by elements so slow
    But heavy tears, badges of either’s woe.
    William Shakespeare

    Presenters

    Mark Chatterley
    Thierry Heles
    19 min
  • Sonnet 043: When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see
    When most I wink, then do mine eyes best see,
    For all the day they view things unrespected;
    But when I sleep, in dreams they look on thee,
    And darkly bright, are bright in dark directed.
    Then thou, whose shadow shadows doth make bright,
    How would thy shadow’s form form happy show
    To the clear day with thy much clearer light,
    When to unseeing eyes thy shade shines so!
    How would, I say, mine eyes be blessed made
    By looking on thee in the living day,
    When in dead night thy fair imperfect shade
    Through heavy sleep on sightless eyes doth stay!
    All days are nights to see till I see thee,
    And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me.
    William Shakespeare

    Presenters

    Mark Chatterley
    Thierry Heles
    18 min
  • Sonnet 042: That thou hast her it is not all my grief
    That thou hast her it is not all my grief,
    And yet it may be said I loved her dearly;
    That she hath thee is of my wailing chief,
    A loss in love that touches me more nearly.
    Loving offenders thus I will excuse ye:
    Thou dost love her, because thou know’st I love her;
    And for my sake even so doth she abuse me,
    Suffering my friend for my sake to approve her.
    If I lose thee, my loss is my love’s gain,
    And losing her, my friend hath found that loss;
    Both find each other, and I lose both twain,
    And both for my sake lay on me this cross:
    But here’s the joy; my friend and I are one;
    Sweet flattery! then she loves but me alone.
    William Shakespeare

    Presenters

    Mark Chatterley
    Thierry Heles
    20 min
  • Sonnet 041: Those pretty wrongs that liberty commits
    Those pretty wrongs that liberty commits,
    When I am sometime absent from thy heart,
    Thy beauty, and thy years full well befits,
    For still temptation follows where thou art.
    Gentle thou art, and therefore to be won,
    Beauteous thou art, therefore to be assail’d;
    And when a woman woos, what woman’s son
    Will sourly leave her till he have prevail’d?
    Ay me! but yet thou might’st my seat forbear,
    And chide thy beauty and thy straying youth,
    Who lead thee in their riot even there
    Where thou art forced to break a twofold truth:–
    Hers by thy beauty tempting her to thee,
    Thine by thy beauty being false to me.
    William Shakespeare

    Presenters

    Mark Chatterley
    Thierry Heles
    24 min
  • Sonnet 040: Take all my loves, my love, yea take them all
    Take all my loves, my love, yea take them all;
    What hast thou then more than thou hadst before?
    No love, my love, that thou mayst true love call;
    All mine was thine, before thou hadst this more.
    Then, if for my love, thou my love receivest,
    I cannot blame thee, for my love thou usest;
    But yet be blam’d, if thou thy self deceivest
    By wilful taste of what thyself refusest.
    I do forgive thy robbery, gentle thief,
    Although thou steal thee all my poverty:
    And yet, love knows it is a greater grief
    To bear love’s wrong, than hate’s known injury.
    Lascivious grace, in whom all ill well shows,
    Kill me with spites yet we must not be foes.

    William Shakespeare

    Presenters

    Mark Chatterley
    Thierry Heles
    24 min
  • Sonnet 039: O! how thy worth with manners may I sing
    O! how thy worth with manners may I sing,
    When thou art all the better part of me?
    What can mine own praise to mine own self bring?
    And what is’t but mine own when I praise thee?
    Even for this, let us divided live,
    And our dear love lose name of single one,
    That by this separation I may give
    That due to thee which thou deserv’st alone.
    O absence! what a torment wouldst thou prove,
    Were it not thy sour leisure gave sweet leave,
    To entertain the time with thoughts of love,
    Which time and thoughts so sweetly doth deceive,
    And that thou teachest how to make one twain,
    By praising him here who doth hence remain.

    William Shakespeare

    Presenters

    Mark Chatterley
    Thierry Heles
    22 min
  • Sonnet 038: How can my muse want subject to invent
    How can my muse want subject to invent,
    While thou dost breathe, that pour’st into my verse
    Thine own sweet argument, too excellent
    For every vulgar paper to rehearse?
    O! give thy self the thanks, if aught in me
    Worthy perusal stand against thy sight;
    For who’s so dumb that cannot write to thee,
    When thou thy self dost give invention light?
    Be thou the tenth Muse, ten times more in worth
    Than those old nine which rhymers invocate;
    And he that calls on thee, let him bring forth
    Eternal numbers to outlive long date.
    If my slight muse do please these curious days,
    The pain be mine, but thine shall be the praise.

    William Shakespeare

    Presenters

    Mark Chatterley
    Thierry Heles
    23 min
  • Sonnet 037: As a decrepit father takes delight
    As a decrepit father takes delight
    To see his active child do deeds of youth,
    So I, made lame by Fortune’s dearest spite,
    Take all my comfort of thy worth and truth;
    For whether beauty, birth, or wealth, or wit,
    Or any of these all, or all, or more,
    Entitled in thy parts, do crowned sit,
    I make my love engrafted to this store:
    So then I am not lame, poor, nor despis’d,
    Whilst that this shadow doth such substance give
    That I in thy abundance am suffic’d,
    And by a part of all thy glory live.
    Look what is best, that best I wish in thee:
    This wish I have; then ten times happy me!

    William Shakespeare

    Presenters

    Mark Chatterley
    Thierry Heles
    22 min
  • Sonnet 036: Let me confess that we two must be twain
    Let me confess that we two must be twain,
    Although our undivided loves are one:
    So shall those blots that do with me remain,
    Without thy help, by me be borne alone.
    In our two loves there is but one respect,
    Though in our lives a separable spite,
    Which though it alter not love’s sole effect,
    Yet doth it steal sweet hours from love’s delight.
    I may not evermore acknowledge thee,
    Lest my bewailed guilt should do thee shame,
    Nor thou with public kindness honour me,
    Unless thou take that honour from thy name:
    But do not so, I love thee in such sort,
    As thou being mine, mine is thy good report.

    William Shakespeare

    Presenters

    Mark Chatterley
    Thierry Heles
    22 min
  • Sonnet 035: No more be grieved at that which thou hast done
    No more be grieved at that which thou hast done:
    Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud:
    Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,
    And loathsome canker lives in sweetest bud.
    All men make faults, and even I in this,
    Authorizing thy trespass with compare,
    Myself corrupting, salving thy amiss,
    Excusing thy sins more than thy sins are;
    For to thy sensual fault I bring in sense,
    Thy adverse party is thy advocate,
    And ‘gainst myself a lawful plea commence:
    Such civil war is in my love and hate,
    That I an accessory needs must be,
    To that sweet thief which sourly robs from me.

    William Shakespeare

    Presenters

    Mark Chatterley
    Thierry Heles
    24 min

About Shakespeare’s Sonnets

From the publisher's feed

The 154 sonnets that Shakespeare penned are some of the most famous in the world. But have you ever heard them all? This podcast series will take you through them one by one in easy 15 minute…