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Naming Thy Name: Cross Talk in Shakespeare's Sonnets
A fascinating case for the identity of Shakespeare’s beautiful young man
SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS ARE indisputably the most enigmatic and enduring love poems written in English. They also may be the most often argued-over sequence of love poems in any language. But what is it that continues to elude us? While it is in part the spellbinding incantations, the hide-and-seek of sound and meaning, it is also the mystery of the noble youth to whom Shakespeare makes a promise―the promise that the youth will survive in the breath and speech and minds of all those who read these sonnets. “How can such promises be fulfilled if no name is actually given?� Elaine Scarry asks.
This book is the answer. Naming Thy Name lays bare William Shakespeare’s devotion to a beloved whom he not only names but names repeatedly in the microtexture of the sonnets, in their architecture, and in their deep fabric, immortalizing a love affair. By naming his name, Scarry enables us to hear clearly, for the very first time, a lover’s call and the beloved’s response. Here, over the course of many poems, are two poets in conversation, in love, speaking and listening, writing and writing back.
In a true work of alchemy, Scarry, one of America’s most innovative and passionate thinkers, brilliantly synthesizes textual analysis, literary criticism, and historiography in pursuit of the haunting call and recall of Shakespeare’s verse and that of his (now at last named) beloved friend.
SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS ARE indisputably the most enigmatic and enduring love poems written in English. They also may be the most often argued-over sequence of love poems in any language. But what is it that continues to elude us? While it is in part the spellbinding incantations, the hide-and-seek of sound and meaning, it is also the mystery of the noble youth to whom Shakespeare makes a promise―the promise that the youth will survive in the breath and speech and minds of all those who read these sonnets. “How can such promises be fulfilled if no name is actually given?� Elaine Scarry asks.
This book is the answer. Naming Thy Name lays bare William Shakespeare’s devotion to a beloved whom he not only names but names repeatedly in the microtexture of the sonnets, in their architecture, and in their deep fabric, immortalizing a love affair. By naming his name, Scarry enables us to hear clearly, for the very first time, a lover’s call and the beloved’s response. Here, over the course of many poems, are two poets in conversation, in love, speaking and listening, writing and writing back.
In a true work of alchemy, Scarry, one of America’s most innovative and passionate thinkers, brilliantly synthesizes textual analysis, literary criticism, and historiography in pursuit of the haunting call and recall of Shakespeare’s verse and that of his (now at last named) beloved friend.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
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539 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 27, 2024
I wouldn't consider myself a Shakespeare scholar, but this was an absolutely fascinating work of research. Considering my own limited knowledge on the subject, this was also very eye-opening to a lot of historical context and speculation that I wasn't aware of. Very cool!
March 2, 2017
My review of this book appears in the February 2017 edition of :
"Elaine Scarry, a celebrated literary scholar known for her interdisciplinary approaches to the study of poetry, culture, philosophy, and art, has joined Oscar Wilde, A. L. Rowse, and many others in attempting to unmask the mysterious subject of Shakespeare’s immortal love sonnets. Her meticulous analysis of Shakespeare’s love sonnets has yielded, she argues, the long-sought-after identity of the beloved young man who is the subject of many of the poems, embedded anagrammatically into individual lines.
Even though her literary-critical detective work does not succeed in altering our understanding of Shakespeare’s biographical record, Scarry has inadvertently created an enchanting piece of historical fiction in the passionate love affair she has imagined between William Shakespeare and the Elizabethan poet-courtier Henry Constable. Shakespearean scholars, most of whom agree that it is fruitless to read the sonnets biographically, have dismissed her detective work, pointing out the ways in which Scarry, like poor wishful Malvolio, “crushes� historical facts to fit the alphabetical clues she finds in the sonnets. However, readers of historical fiction will find a treasure-trove of details about Elizabethan art, poetry, herbology, printing, architecture, court gossip, etc. and Scarry’s conclusion, tantalizingly identifying Constable with Shakespeare’s mysterious London boarder, may inspire many new romantic novels about the Bard’s love life."
"Elaine Scarry, a celebrated literary scholar known for her interdisciplinary approaches to the study of poetry, culture, philosophy, and art, has joined Oscar Wilde, A. L. Rowse, and many others in attempting to unmask the mysterious subject of Shakespeare’s immortal love sonnets. Her meticulous analysis of Shakespeare’s love sonnets has yielded, she argues, the long-sought-after identity of the beloved young man who is the subject of many of the poems, embedded anagrammatically into individual lines.
Even though her literary-critical detective work does not succeed in altering our understanding of Shakespeare’s biographical record, Scarry has inadvertently created an enchanting piece of historical fiction in the passionate love affair she has imagined between William Shakespeare and the Elizabethan poet-courtier Henry Constable. Shakespearean scholars, most of whom agree that it is fruitless to read the sonnets biographically, have dismissed her detective work, pointing out the ways in which Scarry, like poor wishful Malvolio, “crushes� historical facts to fit the alphabetical clues she finds in the sonnets. However, readers of historical fiction will find a treasure-trove of details about Elizabethan art, poetry, herbology, printing, architecture, court gossip, etc. and Scarry’s conclusion, tantalizingly identifying Constable with Shakespeare’s mysterious London boarder, may inspire many new romantic novels about the Bard’s love life."
January 23, 2018
For fans of the sonnets, this is a very interesting read. The author purports to have identified the fair-haired member of the love triangle, and based on the evidence she provides, I believe she has done so. She also identifies King James as the rival poet.
Some of the evidence that she provides feels like it requires too much credulity on its own, but nonetheless the overall identification feels right. The last couple of chapters get into highly speculative mode, and I hesitate to put much belief in her argument, but there are some very interesting points made.
Some of the evidence that she provides feels like it requires too much credulity on its own, but nonetheless the overall identification feels right. The last couple of chapters get into highly speculative mode, and I hesitate to put much belief in her argument, but there are some very interesting points made.
February 9, 2017
It was good to exercise my academic brain again.
December 29, 2016
2.5/5. No, sorry, not buying the author's argument as to the identity of the Fair Youth of the sonnets. Too much special pleading to really make a believable case.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
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