About the book
The only actual collection of sonnets written by William Shakespeare Percy.
Discover a collection of extraordinary sonnets that have been nearly invisible to scholars and students alike because they were misunderstood or deliberately suppressed by censors of the canon. As the introduction explains, one of its only preceding reprints was an 1818 edition that was prefaced by its editor as a poetic failure that was a typical example of “the court style”. A close analysis of Coelia’s poetic structure and linguistics proves this collection to be one of the best examples of metered and rhymed verse from the Renaissance. The real reason for the cold critical reception that has ostracized Coelia becomes apparent in the synopsis of the content of the unified narrative these sonnets relate. Coelia is a plea addressed to Elizabeth I for ending the Buggery Act that sentenced homosexuals to death. Sonnet XI refers to a suicidal sacrifice, and Percy was indeed risking his life when he put his own name in the byline of this poetic appeal. Because he was writing under his own name, Percy subverts some of this homosexual subject-matter by instead referring to ugly or masculine features behind a feminine or cross-dressing mask in Sonnet XIII. Each sonnet explores a new philosophical dilemma, with beautiful descriptions, complex mythological allusions, and tragically romantic appeals for love and sympathy. Percy was the dominant ghostwriter of most of the “Shakespeare”-bylined tragedies, but he only wrote a few pieces out of the “Shakespeare”-bylined multi-ghostwriter collection called Sonnets (1609); thus, readers have not really read a full collection of sonnets by “Shakespeare” the Tragedian until they explore Coelia.
“Historians have long recognized that the revered Hippocratic Corpus is an accretion of the writings of many ghost writers and imitators. The analysis of a similar process of accretion in the instance of the British Renaissance Corpus has brought to the fore contributors and ghostwriters here-to-fore largely unknown. Such is the case with William Percy, obscure poet of the 17th century./ At first glance, the notion that careful analysis of this phenomenon may be assisted by artificial intelligence seems contrary to humanistic literary values. But Anna Faktorovich has been a full and sensitive participant in the process and the result is not only her computational-linguistics re-attribution, but also a sensitive, accessible rendition of William Percy’s twenty Sonnets to Coelia./ The poems are contextualized by exordia from multiple historical authors and perspicaciously by Anna Faktorovich herself. Such contextual writings illuminate the central purpose of Percy’s poetizing; the Sonnets to Coelia are an apologia for alternative forms of human love, more specifically an apologia for homosexual love. It is, therefore, of considerable modern interest as an important milestone (or millstone) in the historical record of laws governing human sexuality. Sonnets to Coelia is a plea to Elizabeth I to reverse the ‘Buggery Act’ of 1533, which she instead reinstated./ The poems themselves exemplify the period. They conform to the sonnet form with considerable consistency. What makes them seem most archaic to the modern ear is their rhyme. Commitment to rhyme over-rides all other considerations: it over-rides rhythm, it over-rides accessibility and often renders locutions awkward. Still a careful reading, aided by the abundance of footnotes, is rewarded by considerable amusement and insight./ Perhaps the greatest reward is received if the ‘beholder’s share’, that which the reader brings to the poem, is the presupposition that Coelia is a rubric signifying all the manifold and various forms of human love. Consider for example Sonnet 16 where a grain of cruelty seems to be welcomed:/ ‘Then, if I swear thy love does make me languish;/ Thou turn away, and smile scornfully./ And if I weep; my tears thou despise.’/ In summary, William Percy’s Sonnets to Coelia are a fascinating read and receive my highest recommendation.” —Midwest Book Review, Lloyd Jacobs (December 2021)
Editions of Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9798499596708
- Paperback
- ISBN 9798499595244
- Kindle
- ISBN B09K4LNQLL
Read an Excerpt
The only actual collection of sonnets written by William Shakespeare Percy.
Discover a collection of extraordinary sonnets that have been nearly invisible to scholars and students alike because they were misunderstood or deliberately suppressed by censors of the canon. As the introduction explains, one of its only preceding reprints was an 1818 edition that was prefaced by its editor as a poetic failure that was a typical example of “the court style”. A close analysis of Coelia’s poetic structure and linguistics proves this collection to be one of the best examples of metered and rhymed verse from the Renaissance. The real reason for the cold critical reception that has ostracized Coelia becomes apparent in the synopsis of the content of the unified narrative these sonnets relate. Coelia is a plea addressed to Elizabeth I for ending the Buggery Act that sentenced homosexuals to death. Sonnet XI refers to a suicidal sacrifice, and Percy was indeed risking his life when he put his own name in the byline of this poetic appeal. Because he was writing under his own name, Percy subverts some of this homosexual subject-matter by instead referring to ugly or masculine features behind a feminine or cross-dressing mask in Sonnet XIII. Each sonnet explores a new philosophical dilemma, with beautiful descriptions, complex mythological allusions, and tragically romantic appeals for love and sympathy. Percy was the dominant ghostwriter of most of the “Shakespeare”-bylined tragedies, but he only wrote a few pieces out of the “Shakespeare”-bylined multi-ghostwriter collection called Sonnets (1609); thus, readers have not really read a full collection of sonnets by “Shakespeare” the Tragedian until they explore Coelia.
“Historians have long recognized that the revered Hippocratic Corpus is an accretion of the writings of many ghost writers and imitators. The analysis of a similar process of accretion in the instance of the British Renaissance Corpus has brought to the fore contributors and ghostwriters here-to-fore largely unknown. Such is the case with William Percy, obscure poet of the 17th century./ At first glance, the notion that careful analysis of this phenomenon may be assisted by artificial intelligence seems contrary to humanistic literary values. But Anna Faktorovich has been a full and sensitive participant in the process and the result is not only her computational-linguistics re-attribution, but also a sensitive, accessible rendition of William Percy’s twenty Sonnets to Coelia./ The poems are contextualized by exordia from multiple historical authors and perspicaciously by Anna Faktorovich herself. Such contextual writings illuminate the central purpose of Percy’s poetizing; the Sonnets to Coelia are an apologia for alternative forms of human love, more specifically an apologia for homosexual love. It is, therefore, of considerable modern interest as an important milestone (or millstone) in the historical record of laws governing human sexuality. Sonnets to Coelia is a plea to Elizabeth I to reverse the ‘Buggery Act’ of 1533, which she instead reinstated./ The poems themselves exemplify the period. They conform to the sonnet form with considerable consistency. What makes them seem most archaic to the modern ear is their rhyme. Commitment to rhyme over-rides all other considerations: it over-rides rhythm, it over-rides accessibility and often renders locutions awkward. Still a careful reading, aided by the abundance of footnotes, is rewarded by considerable amusement and insight./ Perhaps the greatest reward is received if the ‘beholder’s share’, that which the reader brings to the poem, is the presupposition that Coelia is a rubric signifying all the manifold and various forms of human love. Consider for example Sonnet 16 where a grain of cruelty seems to be welcomed:/ ‘Then, if I swear thy love does make me languish;/ Thou turn away, and smile scornfully./ And if I weep; my tears thou despise.’/ In summary, William Percy’s Sonnets to Coelia are a fascinating read and receive my highest recommendation.” —Midwest Book Review, Lloyd Jacobs (December 2021)
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters about?
The only actual collection of sonnets written by William Shakespeare Percy.
Discover a collection of extraordinary sonnets that have been nearly invisible to scholars and students alike because they were misunderstood or deliberately suppressed by censors of the canon. As the introduction explains, one of its only preceding reprints was an 1818 edition that was prefaced by its editor as a poetic failure that was a typical example of “the court style”. A close analysis of Coelia’s poetic structure and linguistics proves this collection to be one of the best examples of metered and rhymed verse from the Renaissance. The real reason for the cold critical reception that has ostracized Coelia becomes apparent in the synopsis of the content of the unified narrative these sonnets relate. Coelia is a plea addressed to Elizabeth I for ending the Buggery Act that sentenced homosexuals to death. Sonnet XI refers to a suicidal sacrifice, and Percy was indeed risking his life when he put his own name in the byline of this poetic appeal. Because he was writing under his own name, Percy subverts some of this homosexual subject-matter by instead referring to ugly or masculine features behind a feminine or cross-dressing mask in Sonnet XIII. Each sonnet explores a new philosophical dilemma, with beautiful descriptions, complex mythological allusions, and tragically romantic appeals for love and sympathy. Percy was the dominant ghostwriter of most of the “Shakespeare”-bylined tragedies, but he only wrote a few pieces out of the “Shakespeare”-bylined multi-ghostwriter collection called Sonnets (1609); thus, readers have not really read a full collection of sonnets by “Shakespeare” the Tragedian until they explore Coelia.
“Historians have long recognized that the revered Hippocratic Corpus is an accretion of the writings of many ghost writers and imitators. The analysis of a similar process of accretion in the instance of the British Renaissance Corpus has brought to the fore contributors and ghostwriters here-to-fore largely unknown. Such is the case with William Percy, obscure poet of the 17th century./ At first glance, the notion that careful analysis of this phenomenon may be assisted by artificial intelligence seems contrary to humanistic literary values. But Anna Faktorovich has been a full and sensitive participant in the process and the result is not only her computational-linguistics re-attribution, but also a sensitive, accessible rendition of William Percy’s twenty Sonnets to Coelia./ The poems are contextualized by exordia from multiple historical authors and perspicaciously by Anna Faktorovich herself. Such contextual writings illuminate the central purpose of Percy’s poetizing; the Sonnets to Coelia are an apologia for alternative forms of human love, more specifically an apologia for homosexual love. It is, therefore, of considerable modern interest as an important milestone (or millstone) in the historical record of laws governing human sexuality. Sonnets to Coelia is a plea to Elizabeth I to reverse the ‘Buggery Act’ of 1533, which she instead reinstated./ The poems themselves exemplify the period. They conform to the sonnet form with considerable consistency. What makes them seem most archaic to the modern ear is their rhyme. Commitment to rhyme over-rides all other considerations: it over-rides rhythm, it over-rides accessibility and often renders locutions awkward. Still a careful reading, aided by the abundance of footnotes, is rewarded by considerable amusement and insight./ Perhaps the greatest reward is received if the ‘beholder’s share’, that which the reader brings to the poem, is the presupposition that Coelia is a rubric signifying all the manifold and various forms of human love. Consider for example Sonnet 16 where a grain of cruelty seems to be welcomed:/ ‘Then, if I swear thy love does make me languish;/ Thou turn away, and smile scornfully./ And if I weep; my tears thou despise.’/ In summary, William Percy’s Sonnets to Coelia are a fascinating read and receive my highest recommendation.” —Midwest Book Review, Lloyd Jacobs (December 2021)
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters?
Biography, Literature and Literary studies > Poetry / Poems > Classic poetry / poems
Where can I read a sample of Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9798499596708
How long is Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters and how many pages does it have?
Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters has 114 page(s)
Is Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series British Renaissance Re-Attribution and Modernization
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters?
William Percy
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters is available as hardcover(ISBN 9798499596708) and paperback(ISBN 9798499595244) and kindle(ISBN B09K4LNQLL)
Where can I buy Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters from below
Where can I buy Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia and Three Letters?