Читать книгу Pop Sonnets: Shakespearean Spins on Your Favourite Songs - Erik Didriksen - Страница 8

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) has mystified scholars for centuries. With so little documentary evidence about his life and career, particularly in his own hand, he is a topic of endless academic speculation. Did he really compose the works attributed to him? For whom were the ‘Fair Youth’ and ‘Dark Lady’ sonnets written? Was Shakespeare murdered by a rival writer?

These questions, while intriguing, ignore an important aspect of Shakespeare’s work. He was not an author but a playwright; his work is intended not to be read but heard. His stunning use of rhyme and rhythm not only guided the audience to greater understanding of plot and theme but also helped the actors memorise and perform his works. Given his tremendous power on the stage, we must ask ourselves: if Shakespeare’s plays were intended for performance, why do we believe his sonnets were intended solely for the page?

In fact, they weren’t. The 154 sonnets we know and cherish were an exception, written and published in 1608 to bolster his income while London theatres were closed due to outbreaks of plague. His complete œuvre was far larger, encompassing thousands of unpublished sonnets that were performed with musical accompaniment between acts of his plays. These sonnets survived by being passed down orally, particularly among members of Shakespeare’s troupe, the King’s Men. (Said troupe endured far longer than most people realise, scoring a number one hit in 1963 with their version of ‘Louie, Louie’.)

In 1743, Sir Kirk de Edin began transcribing these sonnets, finally providing the world with a written record of Shakespeare’s lost genius. His work went largely unnoticed, however, until Columbia record executive Robert Lorre discovered the manuscripts in 1951 and began using the sonnets as the foundation for new singles. De Edin’s manuscript quietly spread throughout the music industry, inspiring countless hit songs over the next sixty-five years.

The volume you hold is a selection of these lesser-known sonnets, along with the titles of the songs they helped spark. I earnestly hope they bring you a greater appreciation of both the Bard and the artists he inspired.