I have a pretty red-and-gold leather-bound book of Shakespeare's Sonnets (a fine find from a charity shop) which I keep by my bed. I have several times now set myself the challenge of reading a few a night, until I had read them all. It really hasn't worked. They ask more than my semi-somnolent mind can muster. How much better to listen with my ears than to try to comprehend with my tired, skimming-prone eyes. And how much better to hear the sonnets spoken by those who can give each word its proper weight, each phrase its richest cadence.
I went looking, and here are just a few - even if it isn't your bedtime, enjoy!
I went looking, and here are just a few - even if it isn't your bedtime, enjoy!
(There is a luscious-looking app of all the sonnets read by actors-to-die-for, which I would love to take to bed, but as far as I can figure out, it's not for my computer or phone ... sigh.)
Joan Lennon's website.
Joan Lennon's blog.