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9781611470260

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Astonishing ... deep scholarship, imaginative insight, marvelously illuminating analysis. A critical and literary feat. -- -- Cynthia Ozick, critically acclaimed novelist and essayist I am tremendously impressed -- the denseness of the analysis, the erudition, wide-ranging intelligence, and the sweetness of some of the insights. I suspect this book is a game-changer for anyone teaching the Sonnets anywhere -- hard to see anyone having the audacity to undertake it without Mirsky's book as a reference. -- -- John Hancock, Director of the film, Bang the Drum Slowly: Academy Award Nominee, Obie Award What Mark Mirsky has done is lay bare the sonnets, reveal them, and provoke much curiosity about this distinct triangle, the trio of Will Shakespeare and his young male lover and (their) mistress. There seem to be other lovers, from all ends. I was convinced of his argument for a satire to decay from the get-go, and could not read it any other light. It is in the words of the sonnets themselves, yet Mirsky makes a very persuasive case for it lying also within their arrangement! His eye is searching, unremitting, but he allows, finally, the greatest English poet to speak for himself. Shakespeare's sonnets are fast-paced, heart-breaking. -- -- Josephine McKendry As an English teacher and graduate student, I have found this book incredibly helpful in my approach to teaching and reading Shakespeare. It has made me rethink the sonnets, as Mark Mirsky shows how they tie together as a story, rather than existing as chaotic parts of a sequence!This is a terrific book. -- -- Jessie Leon

Astonishing ... deep scholarship, imaginative insight, marvelously illuminating analysis. A critical and literary feat. -- Cynthia Ozick, critically acclaimed novelist and essayist I am tremendously impressed - the denseness of the analysis, the erudition, wide-ranging intelligence, and the sweetness of some of the insights. I suspect this book is a game-changer for anyone teaching the Sonnets anywhere - hard to see anyone having the audacity to undertake it without Mirsky's book as a reference. -- John Hancock, Director of the film, Bang the Drum Slowly: Academy Award Nominee, Obie Award What Mark Mirsky has done is lay bare the sonnets, reveal them, and provoke much curiosity about this distinct triangle, the trio of Will Shakespeare and his young male lover and (their) mistress. There seem to be other lovers, from all ends. I was convinced of his argument for a satire to decay from the get-go, and could not read it any other light. It is in the words of the sonnets themselves, yet Mirsky makes a very persuasive case for it lying also within their arrangement... His eye is searching, unremitting, but he allows, finally, the greatest English poet to speak for himself. Shakespeare's sonnets are fast-paced, heart-breaking. -- Josephine McKendry As an English teacher and graduate student, I have found this book incredibly helpful in my approach to teaching and reading Shakespeare. It has made me rethink the sonnets, as Mark Mirsky shows how they tie together as a story, rather than existing as chaotic parts of a sequence...This is a terrific book. -- Jessie Leon As a novelist and playwright, Mirsky might be more attuned to the drama of the Sonnets than most. Mirsky's readings can be trenchant and fascinating, especially those of Sonnets 111-26, which use Robert Musil's short story, The Perfection of Love to understand betrayal as spiritual awareness. Although Mirsky's book may not unriddle a mystery, it complements well the other modern, book-length studies and editions upon which it relies and occasionally challenges, those by Booth, Kerrigan, Vendler, and Duncan Jones. It amplifies our understanding of individual poems and groups of poems if not the whole story. Sixteenth Century Journal

Astonishing ... deep scholarship, imaginative insight, marvelously illuminating analysis. A critical and literary feat. -- Cynthia Ozick I am tremendously impressed - the denseness of the analysis, the erudition, wide-ranging intelligence, and the sweetness of some of the insights. I suspect this book is a game-changer for anyone teaching the Sonnets anywhere - hard to see anyone having the audacity to undertake it without Mirsky's book as a reference. -- John Hancock, Director of the film, Bang the Drum Slowly: Academy Award Nominee, Obie Award What Mark Mirsky has done is lay bare the sonnets, reveal them, and provoke much curiosity about this distinct triangle, the trio of Will Shakespeare and his young male lover and (their) mistress. There seem to be other lovers, from all ends. I was convinced of his argument for a satire to decay from the get-go, and could not read it any other light. It is in the words of the sonnets themselves, yet Mirsky makes a very persuasive case for it lying also within their arrangement... His eye is searching, unremitting, but he allows, finally, the greatest English poet to speak for himself. Shakespeare's sonnets are fast-paced, heart-breaking. -- Josephine McKendry As an English teacher and graduate student, I have found this book incredibly helpful in my approach to teaching and reading Shakespeare. It has made me rethink the sonnets, as Mark Mirsky shows how they tie together as a story, rather than existing as chaotic parts of a sequence...This is a terrific book. -- Jessie Leon As a novelist and playwright, Mirsky might be more attuned to the drama of the Sonnets than most. Mirsky's readings can be trenchant and fascinating, especially those of Sonnets 111-26, which use Robert Musil's short story, The Perfection of Love to understand betrayal as spiritual awareness. Although Mirsky's book may not unriddle a mystery, it complements well the other modern, book-length studies and editions upon which it relies and occasionally challenges, those by Booth, Kerrigan, Vendler, and Duncan Jones. It amplifies our understanding of individual poems and groups of poems if not the whole story. Sixteenth Century Journal

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Mark Jay Mirsky is professor of English at the City College of New York.

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