Sonnets

This week I found it very interesting when comparing both Shakespeare and Berrigan. I especially liked that we were given a background on each one. Personally I find it extremely helpful to know a little bit more about the author of the piece I'm reading, it helps me to understand where they are coming from and what they draw some of their inspirations from. As some of the other blogs I have read stated I also found it helpful to go over exactly what a sonnet was composed of. In middle school you get the very basic ABAB format and don't really realize that there is so much more that goes into the composing of a sonnet. Learning new vocabulary was something I really hadn't expected when we started to discuss sonnet's however, I was wrong. Learning things like what a Volta was and why it is placed in between lines 8 and 9 really forced me to read the pieces more carefully and take a look at how the sonnet's were "turning" or changing direction in their language or subject matter. I personally find it extremely difficult to analyze poetry especially when they are by authors such as Shakespeare. I find Berrigan's work hard to read, however his work also interests me at the same time.