Oct 01, 2014 04:13 PM
3120 Views
(Updated Oct 02, 2014 05:40 PM)
It takes a real courage to take up the creations of one of the biggest stalwarts in the history of English literature and provide an explanation to those. Well, I have to say Mohan Vaishnav has got the guts to put forward an elaborate description of one of such creations – the sonnets of William Shakespeare. And quite incredibly he has done it with great ease.
Till date we have got innumerable explanations and critical views on the Sonnets of Shakespeare. The Arden Shakespeare or the Penguin Books have published the views of their editors on Shakespeare’s sonnets and they are quite popular among the common folks. But this man- Mohan Vaishnav has done it a bit differently. He has avoided all the controversial elements- various queries regarding the persons whom Shakespeare had addressed in his sonnets. What Mr. Vaishnav has done is just what a reader, particularly one who is not much acquainted with the elated language of William Shakespeare, wants in order to interpret this great figure.
The book contains all the 154 sonnets of Shakespeare, each followed by a brief yet complete-in-itself explanation. And what this does is a presentation of a ready reference to what the poet has actually wanted to express through his words. Often readers find it difficult to make out a clear view of the poem after going through the footnotes provided in the Arden or the Penguin or the Cambridge editions of the texts. Mohan Vaishnav’s “Sonnets of Shakespeare Explained” comes with a language which makes it easier for them to interpret the poems. Besides, the words in brackets on the side make it even simpler for the readers to understand the actual meanings.
Also this paperback comes with an excellent introduction where he makes it clear regarding his analysis of the sonnets. In the introduction he has made it evident that he has looked for an extensive paraphrasing of the sonnets without looking much into the other aspects of those. And he has stuck to that throughout the book. For instance in the summary provided for Sonnet No. 130, the author of the book has kept it simple by discussing only the theme and the motive behind the sonnet. He has given a nice briefing of all the images that Shakespeare has provided in the perimeter of fourteen lines. Yet he has kept it short and crisp and has never made it erudite or complex like the popular paperbacks.
This nice paperback comes at a price of Rs. 325 only which is quite affordable, especially when we find that there is a simple narration of one of the biggest creations of English literature.The lucid expressions and the extensive introduction that Mohan Vaishnav has provided also make it a mediator between cultures- a bridge that may well provide readers a peep into the vast world of William Shakespeare.
Book Details:-
Author: Mohan Vaishnav
Publisher: Shambhabi – The Third Eye Imprint
Publication Year: 2014
ISBN-13: 9781500669805
ISBN-10: 1500669806
No. Of Pages: 320
Cover: Paperback
MRP: 325 Rs
(Reviewed by Argha Ghosh)
