Learning in Retirement Series: Dr. Michael Bonin Shakespeare's Sonnets: Literature's Greatest Enigma

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Community Room. Join us for these free lecture programs to get a taste of what Learning in Retirement (LIR) has to offer! LIR offers a variety of courses both in person and online for retirees, taught by experts and former teachers who love to share their passions. Many of Shakespeare’s sonnets, such as “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” and “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,” are amongst the greatest and best-known poems in the English language. But they remain a tantalizing enigma to scholars. How did they come to be published? To whom were these love poems written? What, if anything, do they tell us about Shakespeare himself? You know our methods, Watson. We will look into these sonnets and see if, as Wordsworth declared, “. . . with this key/Shakespeare unlocked his heart.” Michael Bonin holds a Ph.D. in English from UCLA. He taught Shakespeare, Milton, and Renaissance literature at Gonzaga University, where he served as chair of the English Department and won the university’s teaching award. He was awarded an English Speaking Union fellowship to study Shakespearean performance at the Globe Theatre in London, and has written scholarly articles, given lectures, and curated a museum exhibit about Shakespeare.

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