Friday, May 22, 2009

Public Reception of Shake-Speares Sonnets 1609 (Sonnets Part Three)

This may surprise you, but there isn't a single extant record of any contemporary critical response to the appearance of Shake-Speares Sonnets in May 1609. Nor any for the rest of 1609 or for decades to follow. This is odd for several reasons. For one, Shakespeare's other books of poetry, Venus & Adonis 1593 and The Rape of Lucrece 1594 had both gone to multiple editions by 1609. They were steady bestsellers. Surely there should have been a ready and appreciative market for the Sonnets. Additionally, there are perhaps a dozen authentic contemporary allusions to the V&A and Lucrece poems in printed works and diaries of the time. Yet, nothing similar exists for the Sonnets.

The only scrap that serves as even an acknowledgement that the Sonnets were available in 1609 is a back-of-an-envelope notation found among the Edward Alleyn papers. Dated June 19, 1609, in an ad-hoc list of items under the heading “Howshold Stuff” a copy of “Shaksper sonets fivepence" was noted. At best, this stands as the single surviving evidence that someone bought the Sonnets in 1609. At worst it is a forgery. You see, the envelope in question was discovered by John Payne Collier, who was notorious for forging allusions to Shakespeare on convenient blank pages of Elizabethan miscellany. Modern scholars consider Collier' s discovery (of Allyn’s alleged chit) to be an out-and-out fraud. The spellings are suspect. The handwriting is quite unlike the abundant examples of Alleyn’s pen. Moreover Alleyn, who did keep expense records, always labeled then "Howshold" or "Howshold charges." The phrase, “Howshold Stuff” seems borrowed from the induction of The Taming of the Shrew! The Sonnets appear to have slipped by unremarked.

Oddly, there was no second edition in this format. Perhaps the Sonnet craze was over, or the profound sadness of the Sonnets turned readers off. Yet a big reception was anticipated by publisher Thorpe who used two different sets of booksellers (as evidenced by the title pages of the two variant editions of 1609) to make the product easily available.


There is at least one bit of early criticism of the 1609 Sonnets that survives, though the comment cannot be accurately dated. It could have been a century later. In a copy of the Sonnets quarto once held by the Rosenbach Library/Museum in Philadelphia there is a handwritten annotation following Sonnet 154. It reads, “What a heap of wretched Infidel stuff.” The word "Infidel" is capitalized and double inked. It is thought that this unknown critic found the poems scandalously homoerotic.

My colleague, Marty Hyatt, informs me that the former Rosenbach copy of the Sonnets is now held by the Bodmer Foundation Library in Geneva. Here's a photo of Marianne Faithfull examining the unique copy.

And the next version of the Sonnets to appear, in 1640, was mangled in John Benson’s version of Poems written by Wil. Shake-Speare, Gent. Benson put the sonnets in a strange new sequence and altered a few of the love references to a boy or man. Some think Benson did this to obscure a story that was being told in the original sequence.

Edward Alleyn was the leader of the Lord Admiral's Men for many years. In the early 1590s he played the title role in Titus Andronicus. Alleyn is also thought to have played Hamlet in a 1594 performance that is recorded but remains off-the-radar in standard Shakespeare studies.

Alleyn's father-in-law was Philip Henslowe, the famous Elizabethan theatrical producer. Alleyn kept a voluminous diary and records, and yet, rather amazingly, he never mentions William Shakespeare the playwright. This glaring omission was probably the motivation for Collier’s fraudulent notation. Collier liked to try to fill in these mysterious gaps in the historical record.



copyright 2009 Robert Sean Brazil

15 comments:

  1. Thanks, Robert. It's a lot of fun to see what you dig up about 1609. Nice summary about the sonnets in these last three entries. I have a couple quick notes.

    The copy of the sonnets you mention from the Rosenbach Library is now in the Bodmer Foundation Library in Geneva. Here is a recent photo of Marianne Faithfull taking a look at it:
    http://www.swisster.ch/multimedia/images/img_traitees/2008/12/Faithfull999_news_zoom.jpg

    Regarding Benson's mangled edition of poems, I think it's important to note how little re-gendering actually took place. See Margreta de Grazia, "The Scandal of Shakespeare's Sonnets," Shakespeare Survey 46 (1994), pp. 35-49, also also reprinted in "Shakespeare's Sonnets, Critical Essays," edited by James Schiffer, 1999. Pronouns were only changed in sonnet 101 and the intention there may have been to distinguish better between the personification of 'truth' and the person of the beloved. Additionally, Benson altered one instance of 'boy' to 'love.' And in 3 of his supplied titles, he redirected 'fair youth' sonnets to a woman, but none of the sonnets involved is clearly to a male. Most indications of a masculine addressee remain. The very first sonnet printed has 11 masculine pronouns and Benson included sonnets 20, 106, and 110. So, as a whole, there doesn't seem to be much of an effort to re-gender the addressee.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gunung semeru memiliki sebuah danau yang penuh dengan misteri, namanya danau ranu kumbolo. Danau ini sungguh cantik dinikmati di malam hari, yaitu saat badan mulai lelah kita akan dihibur oleh taburan bintang di atas langit. Tentunya menginap di danau ranu kumbolo akan jauh lebih romantis dibandingkan dengan menginap di hotel bintang lima. Jalur pendakian danau ranu kumbolo bisa ditempuh dengan waktu 5 jam berjalan kaki dari titik start desa Ranupani. Sepanjang perjalanan untuk mencapai danau ranu kumbolo, kita akan bertemu dengan pos-pos istirahat yang berjumlah 5 buah. Dan yang penting, simpanlah sampah anda selama melakukan wisata ke danau ranu kumbolo ini agar danau yang penuh misteri ini tetap terjaga kelestariannya. Info paket wisata danau ranu kumbolo gunung semeru baca link ini.

      Mobil elf short yang berkapasitas 12 seat banyak tersedia di kantor-kantor rental mobil di malang. Mobil elf short ini sangat cocok digunakan untuk perjalanan jauh dan bisa memuat banyak kapasitas yaitu hingga 12 orang dengan sopir. Mobil elf short pariwisata di malang biasanya memang disewakan di kota malang batu karena mengingat kota dingin ini banyak memiliki objek wisata terkenal. Jika anda butuh sewa mobil elf short di kota malang lihat tautan ini.

      Apakah anda sedang mencari tempat penyewaan mobil elf short dan elf long di kota surabaya? Silahkan anda datang ke kantor kami yang tepat berada di jantung kota surabaya untuk memesan mobil atau anda juga bisa booking sewa mobil di surabaya secara online. Perusahaan rental mobil surabaya kami sangat terpercaya dan profesional dan sudah berdiri sejak 4 tahun yang lalu. Info armada sewa mobil di surabaya selengkapnya disini.

      Anda ingin jalan-jalan di kota jogja karena ada suatu keperluan? Kami siap menyediakan transportasi yang akan menemani perjalanan anda selama berada di jogja. Sewa mobil jogja yang kami sediakan sangat murah dan dijamin anda akan puas selama perjalanan bersama kami. Rental mobil jogja ini berkantor tepat berada di jantung kota jogja. Info lengkap brosur harga rental mobil di jogja klik tautan ini.

      Anda butuh sewa mobil murah di denpasar bali? Setidaknya kami datang dengan menawarkan harga sewa mobil yang termurah di kota denpasar bali. Jenis mobil yang kami sewakan di pulau bali sangat beragam, dari jenis avanza, xenia, ertiga, innova, elf short, elf long dan mobil hiace. Selain itu kami juga menyediakan sewa mobil mewah di bali. Info sewa mobil mewah apa saja di bali tersebut maka baca tautan berikut.

      Delete
  2. Thank you Marty! I'm going to update the entry and give you credit for the correction. RSB

    ReplyDelete
  3. Robert, you will forgive me for failing to comment on your blog until now, when I feel the need to mention a couple of facts that you might have included. Your narratives are both interesting and accurate, as well as attractively laid out and a pleasure to read.

    In your paragraph on Edward Alleyn's envelope, you suggest that no one now thinks it's genuine. But Hyder Rollins, the editor of the Sonnets Variorum (v. 2, p. 54) accepted it as genuine and, more convincingly, so do A. & J. Freeman in their 2 v. study of Collier in 2004---John Payne Collier: scholarship and forgery in the nineteenth century. They examined dozens of suspect Collier documents, and agreed that many were forgeries, but thought this one was OK. On the other hand, Sidney Race (Notes and Queries 195 (1950) 112-14) and Katherine Duncan-Jones (Shakespeare’s Sonnets 1998, 7) think it’s a Collier fake.

    Regards, Ramon

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ramon and Robert: If the Alleyn notation about buying a copy of the Sonnets is accurate -- that is say if it's not a forgery -- then it becomes all the more odd (to me at least) that Alleyn does not mention Shakespeare in any of his writings, his diary, or any other notes in his library. If he actually purchased Shakespeare's Sonnets, wouldn't we expect at least a mention of him from Alleyn? He writes about many other contemporary writers and actors but not Shakespeare. His silence otherwise about Shakespeare might lend support to the forgery notion.

    Best,

    Matthew

    ReplyDelete
  5. hank anyone Marty! I'm going to update your entry and provide anyone credit history for your a static correction.World best ibeacon
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  6. http://www.burbagssale2013.com/ Burberry Outlet
    http://www.airmaxshoesfactory.com/ Air Max Shoes
    http://www.coachblackfriday2014.com/ Coach Black Friday
    http://www.coach-storeoutletonline.com/ Coach Black Friday
    http://www.coachcoachoutlet.com/ Coach Cyber Monday
    http://www.coachxfactory.com/ Coach Factory
    http://www.coach-factoryoutletonline.net/ Coach Outlet Factory
    http://www.coach-outletonlineusa.com/ Coach Outlet USA
    http://www.coach-pursesfactory.com/ Coach Purses Factory
    http://www.coachpurseusa.com/ Coach Purses USA
    http://www.coach-storeoutlet.com/ Coach Store Outlet
    http://www.coach-pursesonline.com/ Coach Purses On Sale
    http://www.monsterbeatsbydres.com/ Monster Beats Outlet
    http://www.louis-vuittonblackfriday.com/ Louis Vuitton Outlet
    http://www.lv-guccishoesfactory.com/ Louis Vuitton Factory
    http://www.marcjacobsonsale.com/ Marc Jacobs On Sale
    http://www.mcmworldwides.com/ MCM Outlet
    http://www.mcmoutlet-jp.com/ MCM 店铺
    http://www.oakleysunglassesfactory.com/ cheap oakley sunglasses
    http://www.michaelkorsmas.com/ Michael Kors Outlet
    http://www.michaelkors.so/ Michael Kors Outlet
    http://www.michaelkorsfactory-store.com/ Michael Kors Factory
    http://www.michaelkorsoutletr.com/ Michael Kors Outlet
    http://www.michael-korsfactoryonline.com/ Michael Kors Factory Online
    http://www.newcoachfactoryoutlet.com/ Coach Factory Outlet
    http://www.north-faceoutletonlines.net/ North Face Outlet Online
    http://www.polo-outletstore.com/ Polo Outlet Store
    http://www.ralph-laurenhome.com/ Ralph Lauren UK
    http://www.saclongchamppairs.com/ Sac Longchamp Pairs
    http://www.tcoachoutletonline.com/ Coach Outlet Online
    http://www.the-coachfactoryoutlet.com/ Coach Factory Oultet
    http://www.barbour-jacketsoutlet.com/ Barbour Jackets Outlet Online
    http://www.canada-gooser.com/ Canada Goose Outlet
    http://www.guccishoesuk-2014.com/ Gucci Outlet Online
    http://www.michaelkorsstates.com/ Michael Kors Outlet
    http://www.moncler-clearance.com/ Moncler Clearance
    http://www.moncler-jacketsoutletonline.com/ Moncler Jackets Outlet Online
    http://www.northsclearance.com/ North Clearace Outlet
    http://www.polo-ralphlaurenonline.com/ Polo Ralph Lauren Outlet Online
    http://www.woolrich-clearance.com/ Woolrich Clearance
    http://www.cvshopfactory.com/ shop.coachfactory.com
    http://www.mksfactoryoutlet.com/ Michael Kors Factory Outlet
    http://www.zxcoachoutlet.com/ Coach Outlet Online USA
    http://www.thebeatsbydre.net/ Beats by Dre
    http://www.vipbagsmall.com/
    http://www.newoutletonlinemall.com/ Coach Purses Outlet Online
    http://www.clickmichaelkors.com/ Michael Kors USA

    ReplyDelete
  7. The reason for a football game is to advance the ball and score points into the other teams end zone. The football can be advanced by throwing it to another player which is known as a passing play or carrying it which is known as a running play.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wonderful work!! Excellent blog posts to read maintain it up as well as keep taking place through this.louer agadir voiture

    ReplyDelete
  9. A lot of us are still unaware of the recent development of the Blank ATM card.. An ATM card that can change your financial status within few days. With this Blank ATM card, you can withdraw between $1000-$10,000 daily from any ATM machine in the world. There is no risk of getting caught by any form of security if you followed the instructions properly. The Blank ATM card is also sophisticated due to the fact that the card has its own security making your transaction very safe and untraceable. For more info contact us with the below address and you can also watch our YouTube to read customers review.
       
     E-mail: unitedblankatmhackcard@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Keep up the excellent work, osg777 I read few articles on this site and I think that your web blog is real interesting and Power to the People of excellent information.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The only scrap that serves as even an acknowledgement that the Sonnets were available in 1609 is a back-of-an-envelope notation found among the Edward Alleyn papers. Dated June 19, 1609, in an ad-hoc list of items under the heading “Howshold Stuff” a copy of “Shaksper sonets fivepence" was noted. At best, this stands as the single surviving evidence that someone bought the Sonnets in 1609. At worst it is a forgery. stitching unit , ladies tailor , custom tailor , tailor near me , tailor shop , Online Tailor Shop , tailoring company You see, the envelope in question was discovered by John Payne Collier, who was notorious for forging allusions to Shakespeare on convenient blank pages of Elizabethan miscellany. Modern scholars consider Collier' s discovery (of Allyn’s alleged chit) to be an out-and-out fraud. The spellings are suspect. The handwriting is quite unlike the abundant examples of Alleyn’s pen. Moreover Alleyn, who did keep expense records, always labeled then "Howshold" or "Howshold charges." The phrase, “Howshold Stuff” seems borrowed from the induction of The Taming of the Shrew! The Sonnets appear to have slipped by unremarked.

    ReplyDelete


  12. TODAY I GOT MY DESIRED XMAS LOAN AMOUNT $520,000.00 FROM A RELIABLE AND TRUSTED LOAN COMPANY. IF YOU NEED A LOAN NOW EMAIL CONTACT drbenjaminfinance@gmail.com

    Hello, I'm here to testify of how i got my loan from BENJAMIN LOAN FINANCE(drbenjaminfinance@gmail.com) I don't know if you are in need of an urgent loan to pay bills, start business or build a house, they offer all kinds of loan. So feel free to contact Dr. Benjamin Owen he holds all of the information about how to obtain money quickly and painlessly without cost/stress via Email: drbenjaminfinance@gmail.com

    Consider all your financial problems tackled and solved ASAP. Share this to help a soul right now THANKS.

    ReplyDelete