- Sonnets
- is
- the
- title
- of
- a
- collection
- of
- 154
- sonnets
- by
- William
- Shakespeare,
- which
- covers
- themes
- such
- as
- the
- passage
- of
- time,
- love,
- beauty
- and
- mortality.
- The
- first
- 126
- sonnets
- are
- addressed
- to
- a
- young
- man;
- the
- last
- 28
- to
- a
- woman.
- The
- sonnets
- were
- first
- published
- in
- a
- 1609
- quarto
- with
- the
- full
- stylised
- title:
- SHAKE-SPEARES
- SONNETS.
- Never
- before
- Imprinted.
- (although
- sonnets
- 138
- and
- 144
- had
- previously
- been
- published
- in
- the
- 1599
- miscellany
- The
- Passionate
- Pilgrim).
- The
- quarto
- ends
- with
- "A
- Lover's
- Complaint",
- a
- narrative
- poem
- of
- 47
- seven-line
- stanzas
- written
- in
- rhyme
- royal
- –
- though
- some
- scholars
- have
- argued
- convincingly
- against
- Shakespeare's
- authorship
- of
- the
- poem.
- The
- sonnets
- to
- the
- young
- man
- express
- overwhelming,
- obsessional
- love.
- The
- main
- issue
- of
- debate
- has
- always
- been
- whether
- it
- remained
- platonic
- or
- became
- physical.
- The
- first
- 17
- poems,
- traditionally
- called
- the
- procreation
- sonnets,
- are
- addressed
- to
- the
- young
- man
- urging
- him
- to
- marry
- and
- have
- children
- in
- order
- to
- immortalize
- his
- beauty
- by
- passing
- it
- to
- the
- next
- generation.
- Other
- sonnets
- express
- the
- speaker's
- love
- for
- the
- young
- man;
- brood
- upon
- loneliness,
- death,
- and
- the
- transience
- of
- life;
- seem
- to
- criticise
- the
- young
- man
- for
- preferring
- a
- rival
- poet;
- express
- ambiguous
- feelings
- for
- the
- speaker's
- mistress;
- and
- pun
- on
- the
- poet's
- name.
- The
- final
- two
- sonnets
- are
- allegorical
- treatments
- of
- Greek
- epigrams
- referring
- to
- the
- "little
- love-god"
- Cupid.
- The
- publisher,
- Thomas
- Thorpe,
- entered
- the
- book
- in
- the
- Stationers'
- Register
- on
- 20
- May
- 1609:
- Tho.
- Thorpe.
- Entred
- for
- his
- copie
- under
- the
- handes
- of
- master
- Wilson
- and
- master
- Lownes
- Wardenes
- a
- booke
- called
- Shakespeares
- sonnettes
- vjd.
- Whether
- Thorpe
- used
- an
- authorised
- manuscript
- from
- Shakespeare
- or
- an
- unauthorised
- copy
- is
- unknown.
- George
- Eld
- printed
- the
- quarto,
- and
- the
- run
- was
- divided
- between
- the
- booksellers
- William
- Aspley
- and
- John Wright.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
