The Meta-Sonnets Podcast = A New Way to Read Shakespeare's Poetry
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.
The Meta-Sonnets Podcast = A New Way to Read Shakespeare's Poetry
Season 2 Trailer - What is Act 2?
This season I will cover my favorite part of The Sonnets: Act 2 or Sonnets 43-70. In this short episode I will tell you why - because Shakespeare's idea are both genius and highly entertaining!
www.sonnetspodcast.com
sonnetspodcast@gmail.com
Season Two Trailer
Hello Shakespeareans, and thanks for tuning in to the Secret Five Act Structure of Shakespeare’s Sonnets Podcast. I know that’s a lot, but I like to put it all in the title. Since you’re listening to this trailer for Season 2, I can only assume you’re deciding whether or not my show is for you. So, with the precious little time you’re giving me, let me convince you that, if you’re into Shakespeare, this podcast has a lot to offer.
The Secret Five Act Structure, which I’ve already explained in Season 1, is relatively easy to understand. There are 154 Sonnets. 11x14=154, each individual sonnet functions as a line within a larger sectional sonnet, and these eleven sections group into five acts. Even if you think this is impossible, I can prove it pretty quickly using our good friend math. The Dark Lady Sonnets are 28 sonnets long. That’s 14x2, and they form the last two sections. Sonnet 99 is 15 lines long and 126 has 12 lines. These two poems are the only ones in the entire sequence that aren’t 14 lines long, and get this, they are exactly 28 sonnets away from each other. Plus, they immediately precede The Dark Lady. Therefore, this group of clearly bracketed poems make up Act 4. Next up, Act 1 is 3 sections long. The first 42 poems, that is 14x3, form a very clear narrative in which an older man tries to convince a young bachelor to find a wife and father children. Then, the older man falls only in love with the fair youth and later discovers that the bachelor is now sleeping with the poet’s mistress. This is a very clear narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. And guess what, outside of Act 1 and Act 5, how often do you think Shakespeare uses female pronouns? Well, it only happens five times in the other 84 poems. None of this is a coincidence. It’s all math. Acts 2 and 3 also have clear narrative arcs as well. When their Sections begins, they immediately abandon the old story and start telling new ones.
My point here is, there is a clear structure and there’s no way it wasn’t the work of William Shakespeare. No one other writer or editor could have possibly arranged it. This is groundbreaking and fascinating, and it also creates a ton of questions. How has no one never seen this before? Also, what the heck actually happened 400 years ago? Well, to be honest, I don’t have good answers to those questions. As you will see in this podcast, I am only interested in the text. I only focus on Shakespeare’s words. You may think this is shortsighted and maybe it is, but you can be rest assured, I’m not pulling anything crazy out of left field. There are no random documents and there’s no unsubstantiated rumors. This podcast is 100% Shakespeare’s Sonnets. You may disagree with my ideas, but they all come from the text.
So, now you might be in an interesting place. Maybe you’re already familiar with the Secret Structure or maybe you aren’t. However, regardless, the next question you should have is: what does this do to work? It’s one thing for there to be an obvious arrangement, but what does this do for the reader?
Well, that’s where Season 2 comes in. By my best guess, and this is somewhat supported by the text, the Secret Five Act Structure doubles the amount of pleasure you will get from The Sonnets. So many of the poems are timeless masterpieces that will be read for at least another thousand years. However, what if I told you that the pleasure you get from reading these poems could be doubled? Well, would you be interested? I hope so.
For me, creating this podcast is a ton of work and, while I’d like to do a deep dive episode into every single sonnet, that would take me at least five years, and it would mean I’d have to wait years to get some of my favorite poems and sections. To be honest, that doesn’t really appeal to me.
So, about six months ago, I asked myself, what is the story I most want to tell from The Sonnets that no one has ever read? The answer was easy: Section 4. Section 4 is, in my humble opinion, one of the most brilliant things ever written and it functions on many levels. However, if you’ve ever read these poems, you’d probably think they are mostly skippable, and that’s part of the genius. In these fourteen poems, we’re going to see a side of Shakespeare previously thought unattainable. He’s going to tell us that there is a secret structure, that he hid it intentionally, and that he knows once readers discover it, the entire sonnet sequence will be much better.
Again, you might think this is impossible. However, I’m going to go line by line through the sonnets and present my claims. I believe that every single word of Sonnets 43-56 supports the three ideas I just told you. Plus, there’s so much more.
Hopefully, this has piqued your interest. For prospective listeners, I’ve created an overview episode that covers the entire story presented in the fourteen sonnets of Section 4, and I also have a deep dive for each poem. Additionally, the website for the podcast has transcripts. So, if you prefer to read rather than listen, you can. The website is www.sonnetspodcast.com. Make sure you put in the www, or else it won’t work.
Finally, I know this all might sound crazy, but it’s in the text and I can’t wait to share it with you. After you listen, your relationship with William Shakespeare will forever be changed and you will discover something that no one in the past 400 years has ever read. I hope this all sounds good to you. See you in the next episode.