Sonnet

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1893

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Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare (1609)

Johnson’s “Sonnet” uses the same sonnet form and much of the heightened language as many of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Shakespeare’s clear influence on Johnson is relevant to understanding “Sonnet.” “Sonnet 18” is among Shakespeare’s most well-known sonnets, and it contrasts well with Johnson’s poem. While Johnson’s poem is somber and focuses on the “raven-winged night” (Line 5), Shakespeare’s is upbeat and uses imagery of a “summer’s day.”

“Mother Night” by James Weldon Johnson (1917)

“Mother Night” is one of Johnson’s later sonnets. Unlike 1893’s “Sonnet,” however, “Mother Night” is written in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet rather than a Shakespearian one. Many of the themes and images present in “Mother Night” resonate with Johnson’s earlier work, but its language and imagery are much more refined than in “Sonnet,” perhaps at the risk of being stiff. Comparing the two poems reveals the youthful energy present in “Sonnet.”

“Harlem” by Langston Hughes (1922)

Langston Hughes is a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance. This brief 1922 poem paints a vivid picture of the Black experience in Harlem during this time. Hughes places Harlem “On the edge of hell” and compares the slow-moving progress of civil rights with the slowly rising costs of daily essentials. Though “Sonnet” was written prior to this depiction, Hughes’s work provides context to the kinds of struggles apparent in Johnson’s poem.

“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks (1960)

“We Real Cool” provides a bit of additional context as the American Civil Rights Movement progressed into the 1960s. With few words, Gwendolyn Brooks depicts the ephemeral lives of a group of young Black men who frequent a pool hall called the Golden Shovel. This work gives a more modern perspective on the hardship depicted in Johnson’s poem.

Song of Myself by Walt Whitman (1892)

American poet Walt Whitman’s influential Song of Myself was published only one year prior to Johnson’s “Sonnet,” and it provides a sense of the contemporary literary landscape. Though Whitman’s poem was well-received during his lifetime, his use of free verse, anaphora, romantic sentiment, and lyrical fancy showcases the early American modernism that Johnson resists through his strict sonnet form.

Further Literary Resources

“The Negro Artists and the Racial Mountain” by Langston Hughes (1926)

Langston Hughes’s article about the struggles of Black creativity in his contemporary America is essential reading to understand the challenges artists like Hughes, Johnson, and Brooks faced in their artistic careers. Hughes sets out, in this article, the problems of a white poetics and the need for Black poets to write about their own experiences in their own ways. Johnson’s “Sonnet” is perhaps indicative of what Hughes addresses when he talks about Black poets wanting to “write like a white poet.”

The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson (1912)

The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is the only novel that Johnson published in his lifetime. The novel was originally published anonymously in 1912 but did not garner attention until Johnson’s name was attached to it a decade later. The novel tells the story of a light-skinned Black narrator who struggles to navigate many of the racial inequities in the United States. Perhaps best understood as a sociological document, Johnson’s Autobiography articulates the author’s sentiments about America’s race problem in clear prose.

The Difficult Miracle of Black Poetry in America by June Jordan (2006)

June Jordan traces the history of Black poetry in America back to Phillis Wheatley. Wheatley was taken from her home in West Africa and sold into slavery at seven or eight years old, after which she was taken to America. Wheatley learned to read and write in English and became the first African American author of a published book of poetry. Wheatley’s poems were widely read and had a significant influence on much of Black poetry.

Listen to Poem

Lady Joi Shields reads “Sonnet” by James Weldon Johnson

Lady Joi Shields’s vocal interpretation of the poem was composed and performed for the James Weldon Johnson Institute for Race and Difference at Emory University. Though this kind of vocal performance is unusual for the sonnet form, it is true to the lyrical qualities of Johnson’s work. It also provides a level of emotion in Johnson’s language that may otherwise be lost to a modern reader.