An Exploration of Shakespeare’s Portrayal of “Reason” and of “the Mind” in Sonnets Based on Literary Modes Theory

Abstract

This paper provides a window for understanding Shakespeare’s relationships with reason and with the mind in his sonnets. It selects eight poems via the indexes of “reason” and of “the mind” from the 154 Shakespeare’s sonnets for close reading. It shows that Shakespeare writes about “reason” and “the mind” in three literary modes: narrative, lyrical and dramatic. This literary-mode-based analysis of the eight poems leads to the discovery of the unique performance of “reason” and of “the mind” in Shakespeare’s sonnets. In specific, Shakespeare suggests that reason is the opposite of lust or of desire and that the mind, on the one hand, becomes weaker when it meets the eyes; the mind, on the other hand, becomes stronger when it meets another mind. In addition, the mind contradicts with the body, yet the power of the mind grows as the power of the body grows. Last but not least, through the poems on the themes of reason and of the mind, Shakespeare argues that love is dateless, nonsexual and preservable.