It was found by a researcher at the University of Oxford. It is a rare manuscript copy of the famous Sonnet 116 of Shakespeare. I was hidden in a 17th -century poetry collection. The finding of a sonnet of Shakespeare delights the literary community.
This treasure was found among the papers of Elias Ashmole (1617-1692) was the founder of the Ashmolean Museum and a firm defender of the monarchy during the English Civil War. It is the second known manuscript copy of the sonnet that has been discovered.
New meaning
Dr. Leah Veronese, from the English Faculty, ran into this remarkable find while investigating for her doctorate. The manuscript is part of a “miscellaneous.” It is a manuscript with a selection of texts by different authors on various topics. Early modern poetry used to circulate in miscellaneous. ‘While the manuscript broke, the poem seemed like a strange version of sonnet 116. When I looked in the catalog (originally compiled in the 19th century) I did not mention Shakespeare. It went unnoticed as a copy of sonnet 116 during all these years. ‘Veronese explained in a statement.
The sonnet is between works with political burden. For example, prohibited carols and satirical poems about the tumultuous events of the 1640s. The additional text found in the sonnet seems to have a political intention. Thus, the original romantic intention of the sonnet changes in its known form.
The public interpretation of songs was prohibited during the Republican regime. This text provides a new example of how Shakespeare was read during the civil war. And how their texts were politically reused to adapt to the problems of the time.
Exciting find
Professor Emma Smith, a professor at Oxford University, commented on the finding of a Shakespeare sonnet. «It is an exciting discovery. It shows that centuries of searching for evidence on Shakespeare and their early reception have not exhausted the files ».
The discovery of Dr. Veronese sheds new light on how Shakespeare’s words resonated. They were reformulated during one of the most tumultuous periods in English history. His article, “A new copy of sonnet 116: an arrogant version,” appears in The Review of English Studies.
Leave your reaction
