The Art-A-Thon event I attended focused on the structure and interpretation of Sonnets. At the end of this event, I was able to comprehend how Shakespeare organized his 20th Sonnet and was able to appreciate the meaning behind it. I learned that each line was composed of 11 syllables which was a special number when it comes to Shakespeare. Most interestingly- I learned that words can have “genders” depending if they’re stressed or not.

Sonnets are a beautiful form of poetry that usually are about love. Shakespeare’s 20th Sonnet is both beautiful and mysterious in nature. It is composed of a specific pattern of rhyming and as stated previously, syllables. This Sonnet speaks about a person whom Shakespeare was intrigued by. As you read it, you wonder whether this person is either a male or female. The gender of the person in question is not revealed. Shakespeare describes them as having a beautiful and natural face (of  a woman). Later on however, he claims that the person does not have the heart of a woman because it does not “shift” around too easily. In addition to the woman, a boy is mentioned in the poem as well.

Spoiler alert: The person in question is both a man and a woman. Many scholars have tried to decipher whether Shakespeare is heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual. His poetry, not just Sonnet 20 has many hints that leave people wondering.