Shakespeare's Sonnets

In recent years my blissful state of equanimity were disturbed when I read scholarly interpretations of Williams Shakespeare's sonnets. I have always enjoyed reading the Sonnets, and it was only recently that I read the interpretations by English scholars and was completely amazed at their bizarre take on these wonderful works.

There has been ongoing debate on whether William Shakespeare existed at all, and whether he was the real author of the sonnets - I am not too concerned about such speculation. My astonishment is over the conclusions that Shakespeare:

Was having a Platonic or homosexual relationship with a young man, who was not responding to Shakespeare's advances
Also had a relationship with a mysterious dark skinned lady (possibly a Negro), who was most likely a prostitute ( his "mistress")
Had a constant fear of contracting a venereal disease from his mistress, and that his young friend may also contract VD from the same lady
Was worried that a rival poet would find favour with Shakepeare's unnamed patron, and he would therefore lose his income

There are 154 sonnets, and anyone who is able to arrive at the above conclusions from reading the sonnets is, in my opinion, either a genius or a fool. Good artistic works can be interpreted in different ways and on different levels. People will interpret works in a way that they understand or is foremost in their minds. It therefore concerns me that the scholars of academia can only draw meaningful interpretations of the sonnets based on VD, prostitutes and homesexual love affairs with a minor. I expect better.

I have no opinion on whether the sonnets were written by Shakespeare or another person or persons. I don't care. I contend that the author of the Sonnets was a deeply religious person, and was writing the sonnets for others following a spiritual path - the passionate pilgrims (as per the dedication on the front page of the sonnets).

Historians believe that Shakespeare's family was Catholic, and was suffering persecution due to the Church of England rule at the time. I believe that Shakespeare was conveying some of his Catholic beliefs in the sonnets. It is also worth noting that a contemporary St John of the Cross (1542 - 1591) was one of the greatest Spanish poets of all time. St John of the Cross was deeply religious, and his work "Dark Night of the Soul" is still widely read and relevant to many groups including New Age movements. Also during Shakespeare's time many Black Madonna statues were springing around Europe. This was the "new age" Catholic movement of the 16th century! It seems far more probable to me that references to the dark lady refer to the Black Madonna than to negro prostitutes. It seems far more likely to me that Shakespeare would try to emulate or compete with the great religious poetry of St John of the Cross, than to wax lyrical about a homosexual affair with an unnamed youth. I haven't read all the scholarly works on the sonnets (countless numbers have been published) but on the whole they seem fixated with sexual topics. I believe when Shakespeare refers to "youth" he means the state of being young, or that ever-fresh, ever-new creative aspect of God (Prakriti in the Hindu Upanishads); not "a young man".


St John of the Cross	William Shakespeare	Black Madonna

The language in Shakespeare's works prove that he was not a fool. I believe he was also a profoundly spiritual man and that the subject matter of the sonnets were devotional and mystical in nature. In my small book I have provided traditional and spiritual interpretations to 26 of the most popular sonnets. My interpretations are based on Shakespeare's links to occult societies (including the School of Night founded by Sir Walter Raleigh) and religious links to the writings of St John of the Cross and the Black Madonna.

You may like to check out Dympna Callaghan's recent book Shakespeare Sonnets (Blackwells, 2007). Dympna is an international expert on Shakespeare who visited New Zealand recently, and with whom I briefly corresponded. Her book provides scholarly insight into the Sonnets.

As my book is no longer in print I have provided some examples of my interpretations of the sonnets on my web site. There are others who share my view and I have received some other excellent interpretations of Shakespeare's sonnets from a spiritual and mystical viewpoint. There is hope, it just does not dwell in academia.