One great poem to read today: William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 28”
This April marks the 30th iteration of National Poetry Month, which was launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996. To celebrate, the Literary Hub staff will be recommending one great poem to read every (work) day of the month. We make no claim (except when we do) that these poems are the “best” poems in any category; they are simply poems we love. The only other thing they all have in common is that they are available to read for free online, so you can enjoy them along with us. The internet is still good for some things, after all. Today we recommend:
William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 28”
It’s very easy, in our jaded modern era, to wonder why we still give Shakespeare such space in the cultural consciousness. I certainly ran into this question a lot when I worked at The Public Theater, arguably Shakespeare’s most notable American home these days—but I was always answered by the Bard himself: the guy could fucking write. And while yes we will be condemned to see mediocre productions of the same six plays for the rest of eternity, it is in the deep cuts and the less-popular stuff that we can really see just how spectacular he was. It’s like Mozart: you think it’s all kid’s stuff, fluff, boring…and then you start to dig into it and you realize just what genius actually means.
If you only know Shakespeare’s poetry from the most famous monologues and perhaps the big sonnets—like 116 (“Let me not to the marriage of true minds…”), 18 (“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day…), or 130 (“My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun…”)—I thought it’d be fun to dive into some of the deeper cuts, like this most relatable entry: Sonnet 28, “How can I then return in happy plight…”
Who among us hasn’t felt like both the day and the night were conspiring against us, in different but equally frustrating ways? Is it depression, is it love-sickness, is it just the state of being conscious and alive? I’m not saying Shakespeare has the answers, but getting your tongue around some of these texts might help you feel better regardless.
(Also, it’s St. George’s Day! aka St. Jordi Day! Give your love a book and a rose and then read some sonnets together!)
Drew Broussard
Drew Broussard is the bookstores editor-at-large for Literary Hub and the host of The Lit Hub Podcast. His writing has appeared around the internet and in friends' mailboxes. After a decade working at The Public Theater, he decamped to the woods of upstate New York, where he now lives. He is the manager of Rough Draft Bar & Books in Kingston, NY.
