I am an English major, but by no means a Shakespeare scholar, and I read these poems because it seemed disgraceful for an English major not to have read them. Literary peer pressure can be a very strong thing.

I read this collection slowly, one or two sonnets a night, and gave myself time to think about what I was reading. Of course it isn't all sonnets. This collection also includes the longer poems, "Venus and Adonis," "The Rape of Lucrece," "The Phoenix and Turtle," and "A Lover's Complaint." I'll take each one individually.

"Venus and Adonis" is the story of a goddess, Venus, who falls in love with a human youth, Adonis. Adonis is strangely unresponsive to her blandishments. The poem consists of her trying to convince him to return her advances, and his refusals. I'll say right now that certain parts really made me blush! Female desire is portrayed as a rapacious, unyielding force. In the end Adonis is killed in a boar hunt, and Venus says, "Had I been toothed like him [the boar], I must confess / With kissing him I should have killed him first." Yikes!

"The Rape of Lucrece" tells the story of a woman who is raped by a guest, Tarquinius, in her husband's house. Lucrece's husband Collatinus had boasted of her purity once, and when it was tested she was the only lady found faithful to her husband. It was then that Tarquinius saw her beauty and became inflamed with lust. This is, of course, highly artificial and stylized, and both Lucrece and Tarquinius give great speeches. What I found interesting was how Shakespeare was able to keep the suspense — would Tarquinius really do it? Despite all the high-flown language, I felt as if I were there in his head, weighing the risks against the desire. As the title reveals, he does go through with it, and Lucrece kills herself afterward. In this tale it's male lust that is the destructive force.

"The Phoenix and the Turtle" uses the idea of a phoenix and a turtledove that love one another so deeply that they become one in a metaphysical sense. The primary point seems to be that love can extend beyond the grave. David Bevington, who wrote the notes for this edition, says that the language is reminiscent of theological works discussing the oneness of the Holy Trinity. I think this is a good observation, and it enhances my enjoyment of this short poem.

"A Lover's Complaint" is rather lackluster; a young girl is bemoaning the unfaithfulness of her lover, and enumerating his many attractions. It is a universal theme, but I'll admit it was a bit of a chore to get through.

And the sonnets... the sonnets. Often Shakespeare's more moving sonnets are quoted, the ones that glorify the constancy of love, the virtues of the beloved, the faithfulness of the lover. But I was rather surprised to see how many sonnets seemed to be long, fawning compliments to Shakespeare's patron! Perhaps they are entirely sincere — how could I know? — but the praise is so lavish, it really seems over the top.

And yet I enjoyed many of the sonnets. Shakespeare's adroit turn of phrase is well-used here, and many of the poems mark a very vulnerable honesty on his part. Would that all of us could take the emotional events of our lives and turn them into timeless verse!

If you are interested in Shakespeare's poetry, I recommend you read it slowly over a period of days or weeks. I enjoyed reading a sonnet a night and then turning off my lamp with the ideas of the poem still drifting about in my head. The poems haven't changed my life, but I'm glad I read them. Recommended. ( )