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The Meta-Sonnets Podcast = A New Way to Read Shakespeare's Poetry
The Meta-Sonnets Podcast = A New Way to Read Shakespeare's Poetry episodes
- Sonnet 53 - Shakespeare's Soliloquy: What does it mean to create art and hide its full meaning?
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Sonnet 53 is the most famous poem so far in Section 4, and it's often viewed as a meditation on beauty. While this is a valid interpretation, in this episode, I will dramatically expand the scope of this sonnet. Rather than just the simple concept of beauty, Shakespeare ponders the complex question of what does it mean to create art with hidden layers, knowing that he'll be dead before it's ever discovered, if it's ever discovered at all.
www.sonnetspodcast.com
[email protected]19 min - I'm sorry my audio sucks - A short rant
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I thought my audio equipment was good enough to make this podcast. Some of the episodes were good, but too many weren't. So, I've invested in a real podcast mic and I hope this is problem is fixed.
www.sonnetspodcast.com
[email protected]5 min - Sonnet 52 - Key, Treasure, Survey, Pleasure: Shakespeare's Instructions to Readers
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The first four rhyme words of this poem are a major Easter egg.
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[email protected]27 min - Sonnet 51 - A horse, a horse, an allegory is my horse
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Sonnet 51 is the second half of a pair. These two poems create one of the most unique meta moments in all of Shakespeare. In these two sonnets, Section 4's turn, the Bard is metaphorically, literally, and allegorically telling the reader that he's abandoning the 4442 format. More importantly, he's telling us why (even if this is just the narrator being emotional), and it's that the Metasonnet formula is slowing him down as a poet.
www.sonnetspodcast.com
[email protected]24 min - Sonnet 50 - The Meta-Sonnets Jump the Shark
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Sonnet 50 is either boring or meta-brillance, depending your outlook. My theory is that Shakespeare personifies the meta-sonnets as a horse and then explains why he's Section 4 does not follow the 4442 format. It's because the meta-sonnet structure is too hard and it's slowing him down.
www.sonnetspodcast.com
[email protected]22 min - Sonnet 49 - If Ever that Time comes...
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What does this mean: "Against that time, (if ever that time come.)" Is it a coded way of saying, "in reference to the time when the meta-sonnets are uncovered, if that every happens?" Well, in this episode, I explore this poem from that angle.
I love Sonnet 49. Seemingly, Shakespeare is pondering if his big secret will ever be discovered, and, if so, what impact that will have on the work.www.sonnetspodcast.com
[email protected]29 min - Sonnet 48 - Am I A Thief?
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In this poem, the narrator is pretty angry a someone who he thinks stole something from him. Well, is that other poets who copied his poetic style or the person who uncovered his secret?
www.sonnetspodcast.com
[email protected]31 min - The Meta-Sonnets Podcast Reboot
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I've decided to change the name of the podcast.
1. The Meta-Sonnets Podcast is a much better name
2. I wanted to get "secret" out of the titlewww.sonnetspodcast.com
[email protected]6 min - Sonnet 47 - A Picture with 154 Pieces
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Sonnet 47 might derivative, but it's actually a really fun poem when taken into context. Within the framework of the Meta-Sonnet structure, this poem tells us:
1. 4442 isn't happening in Section 4. Something is out of place.
2. The word "picture" is used three times, suggesting that readers should look at "The Sonnets" as a singular work.www.sonnetspodcast.com
[email protected]26 min - Sonnet 46 - Eye (Words) vs Heart (Format)
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Even if you don't think the Secret Five Act Structure is real, this poem is an engaging metaphor about what makes poetry great. Is it the words themselves or the format/structure employed by the poet?
www.sonnetspodcast.com
[email protected]26 min
About The Meta-Sonnets Podcast = A New Way to Read Shakespeare's Poetry
From the publisher's feed
Shakespeare's Sonnets is a famous and beloved piece of writing, but, in the view of this podcaster, the work is misunderstood and only about half as good as it can be, if a reader knows what to…
look for. This podcast will explore The Sonnets on three levels:
Level 1: The 154 poems group perfectly in an 11x14 Meta-Sonnet structure. This means that there are 11 groups of 14 sonnets and each sonnet functions as a line within a larger sonnet. Furthermore, these 11 sections group into 5 acts (with the first 3 sections forming Act 1 and each subsequent Act is 2 sections long). Regardless how readers interpret The Sonnets, they will notice that thematically similar sonnets almost always group neatly into Meta-Sonnet quatrains and couplets. They will also see that narrative arcs start and stop neatly within their sections and acts. Reading the poems in this way enables readers to make connections that would otherwise be invisible.
Level 2: There are three main characters in The Sonnets: the Poet, the Fair Youth, and the Dark Lady. Many readers see these characters as real people who lived 400 years ago and nothing more. That's fine, but there's plenty of textual evidence that the Fair Youth can also be a personification for poetry/the work itself (not a new idea) and the Dark Lady can be seen as a personification of the Sonnet Format/Renaissance Poetic Conventions/Meta-Sonnets. As such, in this view, The Sonnets is not the private love poems of bi-sexual playwright. Rather, it is a critical examination of the relationship between poet, poetry, and form. Other interpretations are perfectly valid, but this is new way to enjoy the work. Importantly, readers need to see the Meta-Sonnets to full appreciate this interpretation of poems.
Level 3: Assuming Level 1 and Level 2 are true, astute readers will have some serious questions. Maybe they won't and they can just connect the Meta-Sonnets to their existing ideas, but, for others, they will want some answers and rightfully demand an explanation. For example: how could this have happened? Why would Shakespeare have done this? If it's too perfect to be random, why did Shakespeare create Meta-Sonnets and not tell anyone? Honestly, I have no secret knowledge about Shakespeare, but I do have the text. Sonnet 43 (and Act 2 in general/the Second Season of this Podcast) is the best place to go for answers, but there are clues in other sonnets too. In short, the text leads me to believe:
1. Shakespeare invented Meta-Sonnets and wrote about them in the work.
2. He intentionally kept them a secret.
3. He knew that seeing them would double the reading pleasure.
4. If Sonnet 43 was an early sonnet (many scholars believe yes), then that suggests that Shakespeare always intended for The Sonnets to have secret Meta-Sonnets.
These Three Levels are very different. Most readers can easily accept the First Level and many readers are comfortable with the Second Level. The Third Level, however, is scary. Many might even suggest off-putting or ridiculous, and, without a doubt, it is controversial. Fair enough. If readers want to ignore the Third Level, that is fine, but it does not discredit the first two. Having said that, I will explore all three in the podcast.
Level 1: The 154 poems group perfectly in an 11x14 Meta-Sonnet structure. This means that there are 11 groups of 14 sonnets and each sonnet functions as a line within a larger sonnet. Furthermore, these 11 sections group into 5 acts (with the first 3 sections forming Act 1 and each subsequent Act is 2 sections long). Regardless how readers interpret The Sonnets, they will notice that thematically similar sonnets almost always group neatly into Meta-Sonnet quatrains and couplets. They will also see that narrative arcs start and stop neatly within their sections and acts. Reading the poems in this way enables readers to make connections that would otherwise be invisible.
Level 2: There are three main characters in The Sonnets: the Poet, the Fair Youth, and the Dark Lady. Many readers see these characters as real people who lived 400 years ago and nothing more. That's fine, but there's plenty of textual evidence that the Fair Youth can also be a personification for poetry/the work itself (not a new idea) and the Dark Lady can be seen as a personification of the Sonnet Format/Renaissance Poetic Conventions/Meta-Sonnets. As such, in this view, The Sonnets is not the private love poems of bi-sexual playwright. Rather, it is a critical examination of the relationship between poet, poetry, and form. Other interpretations are perfectly valid, but this is new way to enjoy the work. Importantly, readers need to see the Meta-Sonnets to full appreciate this interpretation of poems.
Level 3: Assuming Level 1 and Level 2 are true, astute readers will have some serious questions. Maybe they won't and they can just connect the Meta-Sonnets to their existing ideas, but, for others, they will want some answers and rightfully demand an explanation. For example: how could this have happened? Why would Shakespeare have done this? If it's too perfect to be random, why did Shakespeare create Meta-Sonnets and not tell anyone? Honestly, I have no secret knowledge about Shakespeare, but I do have the text. Sonnet 43 (and Act 2 in general/the Second Season of this Podcast) is the best place to go for answers, but there are clues in other sonnets too. In short, the text leads me to believe:
1. Shakespeare invented Meta-Sonnets and wrote about them in the work.
2. He intentionally kept them a secret.
3. He knew that seeing them would double the reading pleasure.
4. If Sonnet 43 was an early sonnet (many scholars believe yes), then that suggests that Shakespeare always intended for The Sonnets to have secret Meta-Sonnets.
These Three Levels are very different. Most readers can easily accept the First Level and many readers are comfortable with the Second Level. The Third Level, however, is scary. Many might even suggest off-putting or ridiculous, and, without a doubt, it is controversial. Fair enough. If readers want to ignore the Third Level, that is fine, but it does not discredit the first two. Having said that, I will explore all three in the podcast.