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In rendering the Sonnets by William Shakespeare on this website, the following conventions are being applied throughout.
Much in line with common practice: - Archaic spellings are being contemporised, such as neuer to never, heire to heir, fewell to fuel, eate to eat; and obsolete letters replaced with contemporary ones, such as s for the 'long s' ſ. - Punctuation is being standardised and emended to aid the contemporary reader in their understanding of the text. - In most cases, capitalised words that in contemporary English do not require a capital letter are being converted to lower case, such as Winter to winter. Exceptions are made in cases where personification requires or strongly suggests that the word be given effectively as a name, such as in Time's scythe, or wasteful Time debateth, for example. Editors make different choices for conjugated verbs and the use of apostrophes to indicate syllables that are not pronounced or accents to mark those that are. Here, a decision has been taken to largely ease off on these aids as neither the Quarto Edition nor any subsequent one is entirely consistent as to the use of apostrophes, and of course accents do not feature in the Quarto Edition at all. So here, the text is set largely without extraneous marks, with notes given in the explanations to help with pronunciation where necessary and/or relevant. For example: 1.6 Quarto Edition feed'st is here given as feedst 1.11 Quarto Edition buriest is here also given as buriest; it is nevertheless pronounced with two syllables: 'buri'st' 1.12 Quarto Edition makst is here given as makest and pronounced with one syllable. Exceptions are made where an apostrophe clearly helps a contemporary reader make sense of the word, or where the archaic spelling simply doesn't register well today. For example: 10.6 Quarto Edition gainst is here given as 'gainst 34.5 Quarto Edition Tis is here given as 'Tis Most editors render the Shakespearean ore, to mean over, as o'er. A decision has been taken here to leave the original spelling, although archaic, intact, as it is easy enough to understand and makes sense as it is. Specific textual issues will be discussed in the notes for each sonnet as they are added and summarised here for easy reference. Sonnet 25: Let Those Who Are in Favour With Their Stars
Line 9: The painful warrior famoused for fight, Quarto Edition: The painefull warrier famosed for worth, Most people agree this must be a typesetting error. Some editors, including Colin Burrow for the Oxford Shakespeare edition, adopt might. Others, including John Kerrigan for the New Penguin edition prefer fight. Some editors have suggested emending line 11 to obtain a rhyme with 'worth', such as: The painful warrior famoused for worth After a thousand victories once foiled Is from the book of honour razed forth This, however, is not very convincing and rarely retained today. Colin Burrow argues that the alliteration famoused for fight is "too harsh, even for this military context," but I disagree. I hold with John Kerrigan and opt for 'fight', as – to my mind – it yields by far the most satisfying and sensible solution, seeing that a warrior would, after all, be mostly famous for their fighting skill and prowess, whereas 'might' might more readily be ascribed to a prince or indeed an entire armed force. The issue, however, cannot be conclusively resolved. Sonnet 27: Weary With Toil I Haste Me to My Bed
Line 10: Presents thy shadow to my sightless view, Quarto Edition: Presents their shaddoe to my sightles view which is almost universally accepted to be a typesetting error: the vast majority of editors emend – as I do – 'their' to 'thy'. Sonnet 31: Thy Bosom Is Endeared With All Hearts
Line 8: But things removed that hidden in thee lie Quarto Edition: But things remou'd that hidden in there lie, This makes sense. But 'there' and 'thee' very often get mixed up in this edition, and when spoken aloud, thee not only yields a gratifying and rhythmically more accurate emphasis, but also segues the line straight into the 'Thou' of the next line. Many editors therefore emend to 'thee' and I have followed this practice in this instance. Sonnet 34: Why Didst Thou Promise Such a Beauteous Day
Line 12: To him that bears the strong offence's cross. Quarto Edition: To him that beares the strong offenses losse. This is more or less universally accepted to be an error as the biblical reference clearly suggests cross. Line 13: Ah, but those tears are pearl that thy love sheds, Quarto Edition: Ah but those teares are pearle that thy loue sheeds, 'Sheeds' is an old spelling of 'sheds' and here is required to obtain a perfect rhyme with 'deeds': Ah, but those tears are pearl that thy love sheeds, And they are rich and ransom all ill deeds. Editors make different decisions as to whether to retain the original 'sheeds' to preserve the rhyme, or whether to modernise it at the expense of the rhyme. Since in the majority of cases where Original Pronunciation (OP) is needed for a perfect rhyme, the spelling of the word in the Quarto Edition does not, as it does here, make this clear, the general approach taken is to lean towards contemporary spellings and pronunciations, even if this by necessity means compromising on rhymes. Sonnet 35: No More Be Grieved at That Which Thou Hast Done
Line 8: Excusing thy sins more than thy sins are; Quarto Edition: Excusing their sins more than their sins are: Most editors emend 'their' to 'thy' here, because it seems obvious that the manuscript from which the typesetter is working often mixes these up. This emendation has here been adopted, although a strong case can be made for Quarto's 'their'. If the 'faults' that 'all men make' are allowed to represent sins, then the idea that I, the poet, excuse the sins of the faults that all men make in you more than they actually are. Please note that this project and its website are a work in progress. If you spot any issues or mistakes, or if you have any questions or suggestions, please use the contact page to get in touch.
Sonnet 37: As a Decrepit Father Takes Delight
Line 7: Entitled in thy parts to crowned sit. Quarto Edition: Intitled in their parts, do crowned sit. 'Their' here is almost universally considered to be a typesetting error. Sonnet 45: The Other Two, Slight Air and Purging Fire
Line 17: Of thy fair health, recounting it to me. Quarto Edition: Of their faire health, recounting it to me. 'Their' is very widely considered to be a typesetting error. Sonnet 50: How Heavy Do I Journey on the Way
Line 6: Plods dully on, to bear that weight in me. Quarto Edition: Plods duly on, to beare that waight in me, 'Duly', meaning 'dutifully' or possibly 'due in the right direction', would make sense, but the majority of editors emend this to 'dully', which is referenced in the companion piece, Sonnet 51, with: Thus can my love forgive the slow offence Of my dull bearer, when from thee I speed. It would appear to sit more comfortably in the context of Sonnet 50 also, and the omission of a letter in a usually double-lettered spelling is so common as to be considered almost normal at the time. Worth bearing in mind too is that a double meaning of both 'duly' and 'dully', which would have been pronounced almost the same in Shakespeare's day, may be fully intended. |