A Thematic Study of Shakespeare’s Sonnets

Abstract

Shakespeare’s sonnets are a summit in terms of their thematic profundity as well as their rhetorical beauty and emotional exquisiteness. This paper attempts to make an exploration of the thematic uniqueness of Shakespeare’s sonnets through analyzing the themes of time, beauty, and love in the cultural context of the Renaissance. These sonnets show that men should conquer time through offspring, poetry and true love to procure eternal beauty and life, and thus reflect Shakespeare’s humanistic consciousness and his philosophical thoughts.