Mirando, Mark B.

Eng 23

2013-00862 Prof. Judy Ick

“To Theme or No To Rhythm: a fascination between Sonnet 20 and Sonnet 116”

I have always been fascinated on these two sonnets of Shakespeare.

Ever since I first read Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare, I’ve been in love with his careful
cultivation of rhythm. My heart clamors in joy every time I recite Shakespeare’s thumping words, as
they claw into my tongue, saturating every utterance. This fascination grew up to a point where I’ve
decided to use the sonnet in one of my recent productions – Big Love by Charles Mee. Yet, of
course, I can’t take away the fact that this sonnet has been repeatedly raped by many couples
throughout the globe (the reason why I use the sonnet in Big Love’s wedding murder scene). It can
also be the reason why another fascination brewed inside me, the fascination of decoding
Shakespeare’s said to be controversial sonnet – Sonnet 20.

Sonnet 20 for me trumps Sonnet 116 in terms of content and theme. I think this sonnet is
one of Shakespeare’s most interesting sonnets because of its controversial theme – homosexuality.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I appreciated Shakespeare’s effort (or attempt) to break
the norm of poetry writing by capturing a man’s desire with another man. This courage makes it a
good contender to be on my list of my favorite sonnets.

Either or, both sonnets beautifully captivated the power of language as a medium. From
sounds, utterances created lexemes, and from these lexemes emerged a group of phonemes which
gave birth to a diverse amalgamation of meaning which evoked an honest view on human’s
complicated nature of love and desire.