The Speaker

The speaker is the central character in the poem, the self-described author of these words. It is often difficult to distinguish between the author and the speaker in poetry, and all the more so in Shakespeare's sonnets, where Shakespeare so often puts self-aware puns on the nature of authorship (and sometimes, in other sonnets, on his own name). However, it is important to note that we can try to characterize the speaker from the text of the poem, but that does not mean that we can characterize Shakespeare.

Who, then, is the speaker? He seems to be a well-read individual, familiar with "descriptions" found in old stories enough to comment on them (2). He identifies himself with these writers, imagining how he would imitate their art. He is obviously thoughtful and eloquent from the nature of his words. He is also besotted with the beauty of the subject...