As the Black Death was making its voyage from Sicily to conquer the European countries, an eager Shakespeare might have been contemplating whether or not to write a comedy or a drama. However, as soon as the plague did reach Europe, theaters closed and there was nowhere for Shakespeare’s plays to be performed. This posed a problem for the young author. Shakespeare had to somehow exert his ability in another area of wr

iting. What better way to fulfill his urge than to write sonnets? At the time, the sonnet was being repopularized as a common way for expressing one's love for another. Shakespeare thought of this common way of writing as an outlet to do just what everyone else was doing, subjectively expressing themselves through poetry.

"For where is she so fair whose uneared womb/Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?" (ll 5-6). Here Shakespeare creates an image relating to sex. He presents a new question to her, asking if she does not want children only because she does not like sex. This is also the first time that Shakespeare uses the pronoun 'she', which helps to strengthen the case that the audience is a woman. But with the next two lines, "Or who is he so fond will be the tomb/ Of his self-love, to stop posterity" (ll 7-8), Shakespeare now uses the pronoun 'he', which is the basis of the unclearness as to whether or not the audience is a woman. But if the reader looks beyond this simple pronoun, then the reader will notice that with these four lines together, Shakespeare is describing how natural it is for both men and women to want to have children. The two questions presented in these lines are meant to show that it is just as unlikely to find a wife who disdains having sex with her husband, as it is unlikely to find a man who would rather masturbate then want to make love to a real woman. This may be a little lurid for some tastes, but considering the speaker is dealing with someone who clearly doesn't want to have sex, the audience needs to be reminded just how unnatural this really is.

The thoughts, emotions, and feelings that Shakespeare poured into his sonnets serve as not only a testament to subjective poetry but also as a major foundation block for certain aspects of dramatic comedy. All of the important elements of this genre are evident in the sonnet form. Of course what better way to see this relevance than to compare apples to apples. Shakespeare’s dramatic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, serves as a perfect example of the influence of the sonnet form.

Another sonnet of Shakespeare’s in which subjectivity prevails is number eighteen. The speaker of the poem opens with a question that is addressed to his beloved, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" (ll. 1). It is during this time when the flowers are blooming, trees are full of leaves and the weather is warm. Summer is thought of as the most enjoyable time of the year, especially by Shakespeare who has not one but two meanings for this season. It is through these comparative images that the reader gains an insight into Shakespeare’s mind, his thoughts and feelings.

Introspection allows keener observation; new ways of looking enrich more ordinary types of sight. Through this conclusion comes the realization of just how important Shakespeare’s sonnets were to the formulation of his romantic comedies, especially in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The entire function of the Bard’s sonnets were to display how in tune he was with his senses and use them to describe emotions and thoughts. Sonnets three and eighteen display this synesthesic subjective nature of Shakespeare and serve as an excellent foundation for the creation of great romantic comedies such as A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

One prime example of Shakespeare’s use of subjectivity is present in Sonnet number three. This poem is about a husband’s attempt to convince his wife to have children. In the sonnet, Shakespeare relies on his wife’s fear of mortality in order to try to convince her to have children, achieving immortality. The argument of this sonnet is if his wife does not want children, then not only does she deny herself immortality, but she also denies it to the family name.

Some topics in this essay:
Black Death, Night's Dream, Phoebe Diana, Egeus Demetrius, William Shakespeare, Night’s Dream, , language love, Midsummer Night’s, Midsummer Night's, midsummer night's dream, midsummer night’s dream, breathe eyes, sight imagery, 41 ll, night's dream, midsummer night’s, audience woman, midsummer night's, night’s dream, introspection improvisation, eyes ll 13, nighttime forest disrupting, eternal summer fade,