Shakespearean Variations

While it will seem the height of arrogance to write variations on Shakespeare's sonnets, the attempt induces humility and an even deeper regard for the bard of Avon. In Shakespearean Variations, Ralph McInerny takes the first lines of the sonnets and their end rhymes, and composes sonnets of his own. The formal structure of the sonnet has always provided a salutary discipline for the poet -- iambic pentameter, the delicate symmetry of octet and sextet, the closing couplet which epitomizes the poem. The stamp that Shakespeare put upon the form, the themes of love and death, age and youth, loyalty and betrayal, have come to seem to adhere to the very form.

The pleasure to be had from reading Shakespearean Variations will vary with one's acquaintance with the originals but should always turn one to the bard himself.

Ralph McInerny, prof. emer. of philosophy, former director of the Maritain Center at Notre Dame, and author of over 100 books in philosophy, history, translation, and – what he’s most known for – mysteries, particularly the Fr. Dowling novels and the recent Notre Dame series. 

His writing awards include:  Bouchercon Lifetime Achievement Award (1993), Agatha Award (1988), and Best Short Story for “Dutiful Son” (1988). He was the first recipient of the James Schall Award for Teaching and Humane Letters (2008), and received the most prestigious award in philosophy, the Gifford Lectures (1999–2000).