Shakespeares Sonnets, Retold, William Shakespeare
Shakespeares Sonnets, Retold, William Shakespeare
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Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold
Classic Love Poems with a Modern Twist

Author: William Shakespeare, James Anthony, Stephen Fry

Narrator: Paapa Essiedu, James Anthony, Stephen Fry

Unabridged: 5 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/13/2018


Synopsis

An enlightening and entertaining collection of the most esteemed love poems in the English canon, retold in contemporary language everyone can understand
 
James Anthony has long enjoyed poetry with a strict adherence to beat, rhythm, and rhyming patterns, which he likens to the very best pop songs. This drew him to the rewarding 14-line structure of Shakespeare’s sonnets, yet he often found their abstract language frustratingly unintelligible. One day, out of curiosity, he rewrote Sonnet 18—Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day—line-by-line, in the strict five-beat iambic pentameter and rhyming patterns of the original, but in a contemporary language a modern reader could easily understand. The meaning and sentiment—difficult to spot, initially—came to life, revealing new intricacies in the workings of Shakespeare's heart.
 
And so, James embarked on a full-time, year-long project to rewrite all 154 of the Bard's eternal verses creating SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS, RETOLD. This collection of masterful reinterpretations brilliantly demystifies and breathes new life into Shakespeare's work, demonstrating the continued resonance of a playwright whose popularity remains over 400 years after his death. Now, the passion, heartbreak, deception, reconciliation, and mortality of Shakespeare’s originals can be understood by all, without the need to cross reference to an enjoyment-sapping study-guide. Coming with a foreword by Stephen Fry, this is a stunning collection of beautiful love poems made new.

Read by Paapa Essiedu, James Anthony, and Stephen Fry

About The Author

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE was born in 1564, the son of a glove maker from Stratford-upon-Avon, and spent much of his adult life in London. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. Shakespeare's poetry first appeared in 1593, dedicated to his patron Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. It is unknown when he wrote each sonnet, but the collection was first published in 1609. He died in 1616, aged 52.JAMES ANTHONY was born in 1970, the son of an engineer from Peterborough, and has spent much of his adult life in London. James cut his teeth building cars for the Ford Motor Company in Dagenham, and Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold is his first published work of poetry. He has no aristocratic patron, but for the time being, remains very much alive. He lives in New York City with his beloved wife, Versha.


Reviews

Goodreads review by emma on May 29, 2023

my becoming-a-genius project, part 26! the background: i have decided to become a genius. to accomplish this, i'm going to work my way through the collected stories of various authors, reading + reviewing 1 story every day until i get bored / lose every single follower / am struck down by a vengeful de......more

Goodreads review by Leonard on April 03, 2020

There is very little we know about William Shakespeare, the son of a glove-maker from Stratford-upon-Avon. Oddly enough, this ordinary middle-class gentleman wrote the most enthralling plays in the past and possibly the future history of literature. Perhaps, for this reason, Shakespeare’s Sonnets, o......more

Goodreads review by Michael on April 06, 2022

These are quite beautiful poems, but what perhaps you didn't know or didn't remember, is that they actually tell a story of two loves both lost by the protagonist "Will", that of a young man and that of a "dark lady". Despite lots of research, no one has yet convincingly determined whether this was......more

Goodreads review by P.E. on January 14, 2024

Love Journey 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no! it is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth’s unknown, alt......more

Goodreads review by Sasha on March 18, 2019

I have thoughts about the gayness of Shakespeare's sonnets, but they're not as clear as Sandra Newman's are in this wonderful essay. tl;dr there are a variety of conclusions you can draw from the sonnets, but it's silly not to start from the position that they're gay.......more


Quotes

“A dazzling success…. Aside from the pleasure any reader can derive from this achievement, schools and colleges will stamp and cheer with unrestrained gratitude and delight.” —Stephen Fry