PREVIEW: Sonnets by William Shakespeare, foreword by Neil L. Rudenstine

sonnets william shakespeare neil l . rudenstine

prospectus

aT*%IT*%Is & ^ Y U SONNETS ^ wi ll ia m sha k espear e & •• U Y ne il l. rudenst ine & ^ Y U – ^ & U Y & ^ Y U ^ & U Y zT*%IT*%Ix Foreword by

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sh a ke spe a r e i n h i s st udy by joh n faed

from the foreword by neil l. rudenstine

S

•• h a k e s pe a r e’s Sonnets are the greatest single work of lyric poetry in English, and many individ-

ual poems are as powerful as those in any language. Yet they are scarcely read, except for the few that are regularly anthologized. This is not necessarily surprising. To be confronted with 154 sonnets is a considerable challenge, especially if the poems are as complex as any work written by Shakespeare. The effort, however, is more than simply rewarding, because the sequence consists of love poetry that is as passionate, intimate, daring, searing and lyrical as any that we may ever encounter.

Neil L. Rudenstine is an Elizabethan scholar and former Harvard University president. He currently teaches 20thcentury poetry at Princeton University.

about the edition

T

•• h i s vo lume commemorating the William Shakespeare quadricentennial presents The

Folger Shakespeare Library text. It is set in Jenson and printed letterpress in a limited edition of 400 copies in crimson half-leather bindings and 14 copies on special papers in full leather jeweled bindings: 1 copy on blue paper in a blue moroccan binding set with sapphires, 6 copies on purple paper in purple moroccan bindings set with amethysts, 1 copy on yellow paper in a yellow moroccan binding set with citrines, 6 copies on red paper in scarlet moroccan bindings set with carnelians.

Numbered and signed by the author of the foreword and publisher. Comes in a black clamshell box with leather spine label.

aT*%IT*%Is & ^ Y U ^ & U Y & ^ Y U ^ & U Y & ^ Y U ^ & U Y zT*%IT*%Ix OTH ER POE T RY B O OKS

Let Me Count the Ways

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Last Poems

jame s me r rill

The Walrus and the Carpenter

lewi s carroll, adam gop nik, john h u t ton

Le Bateau Ivre

a rth ur rimbaud, t hie r ry de sp on t

Candy

mar k st rand, we ndy mark

A Visit from St. Nicholas cle me nt mo ore

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