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NEW INSIGHT INTO SHAKESPEARE'S SONNET SEQUENCE Berkeley's John
Noonan presents the case for a new reading of 22 of Shakespeare's
Sonnets Berkeley, California. John T. Noonan, Jr., U.C. Berkeley
professor and federal judge, is the author of Shakespeare's
Spiritual Sonnets just published by Amazon. Noonan presents
argument and analysis of the Sonnets pointing to addressees of
these poems far from the usual suspects. His candidates include
God, the Virgin Mary, Mother Church, and Jesuit missionaries to
England. He himself acknowledges his own reluctance to believe that
the Bard was "mixed up with Jesuits." Imagine for a moment
discovering new poems by Shakespeare. Noonan discards the
assumption that the Sonnets reflect the course of two or more love
affairs. Observing that it is generally agreed that some of the
Sonnets are commissioned work urging a young man to marry, and that
two sonnets are addressed to the poet's soul, he argues that each
of the remaining sonnets should be examined in terms of its
particular purpose and addressee. His analysis is both negative,
pointing to substantial difficulties and gaps in the standard
approach, and positive, showing the probability of a different
reading. Not by Euclidean logic, he writes, but by a convergence of
probabilities is the case made. Noonan's interpretation sets the 22
sonnets firmly in the context of religious controversy and
compelled conformity in Queen Elizabeth's Britain and in the larger
context of continental currents of theology. Shakespeare, Noonan
notes, was a man of his time, and the time extends back to Pope
Gregory's dispatch of missionaries to England a thousand years
earlier. Noonan offers a spectrum within which he suggests that
Shakespeare fits. At one end is William Byrd, composer for Queen
Elizabeth and composer of masses and motets for the Catholic
underground. At the other end of the spectrum is Robert Southwell,
S.J., sought, caught, and hung as a priest criminally present in
the country. Between them, Noonan places Shakespeare, who borrowed
ideas and inspiration from Southwell's poems and who emulated Byrd
in his ability to please the queen and to enhearten his own
disfavored community. Noonan's book is likely to lead many lovers
of Shakespeare to look at the Sonnets afresh.
Society and individual members thereof who approach the court in
conscience desire justice. They place their hope not only in the
knowledge but also in the morality of the judges. At a time when
the values of the judiciary are under intense scrutiny, Noonan and
Winston present an extensive, highly informed collection of
readings with commentary and explication. They address the concept
and role of judge, the act of judging, and the requirements and
potential abuses inherent in the system and process of sitting in
judgment. This is a reflective, yet eminently realistic
consideration of the fundamental issues and questions involved in
establishing a reasonable framework for assessing judicial
morality. The work first examines qualities of the ideal, corrupt,
and over-zealous or political judge. The editors next address the
judge's role and response in view of the tensions rising not only
from the facts of the case and legal precedents but also from such
human qualities as compassion. They also look at the power of
social expectations and personal beliefs as possible influences on
judicial decisions. Finally, the editors consider the need judges
have for independence and study that necessary factor in
relationships to accountability and also potential for abuse. This
is a learned, inclusive, yet accessible and captivating, work. It
will clarify and reinvigorate discussion of critically important
issues fundamental to an ethical judiciary.
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