Night Waves [19/05/2009]

Synopsis: BBC Radio 3 arts series. In this edition, part of the BBC Poetry Season, Philip Dodd previews Radio 3’s Sonnets Day, which celebrates the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Poet Jo Shapcott, actor and director Samuel West and Shakespeare specialist Helen Hackett discuss why the sonnet form has entranced, intrigued and challenged readers for four centuries, as well as commenting on contemporary poets who write in the sonnet form. Samuel West reads Sonnet 18 (`Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?') and Sonnet 57 (`Being your slave, what should I do but tend/Upon the hours and times of your desire?). West speaks briefly on the difficulty of reading sonnets and explains why he finds Romeo and Juliet finishing each other’s lines (Act I v l720-736, ‘If I profane with my unworthiest hand...') so appealing. The item is c12 mins.
Series: Night Waves
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Radio
Transmission details: 19 May 2009 at 21:15 (Channel: BBC Radio 3)
Duration: 45 mins