The Sonnets

by William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor of the Renaissance era. He was an important member of the King's Men company of theatrical players from roughly 1594 onward. Known throughout the world, Shakespeare's writings capture the range of human emotion and conflict and have been celebrated for more than 400 years. And yet, the personal life of William Shakespeare is somewhat a mystery.
The Sonnets are William Shakespeare's most popular works, and a few of them, such as Sonnet 18, Sonnet 116, and Sonnet 73, have become the most widely-read poems in all of English literature.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Fiction, British Literature

168 pages, Hardcover

Published August 31, 2021

About the author

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

Reviews

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shakespeare’s Sonnets prove to be a lovely collection. I found the middle section to be the most profound and beautiful with a wonderful message. The initial and final sonnets were a little more difficult simply due to the subject matter, which I did not enjoy.

Overall, this is a beautiful collection of sonnets and can be enjoyed by all.

[Orion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn Shakespeare, U saucy

[Alba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Para mí hay mucho contraste entre unos poemas y otros. Algunos eran preciosos pero otros me han decepcionado.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a long time to finish this, because I had to Google a lot to understand the sonnets. But I finished, and I loved it! It's so good! It's Shakespeare!

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restor'd and sorrows end.

It's Shakespeare! What is there to say? I probably would've have liked to read this slowly, maybe one sonnet a day so I could really reflect on them but that is my fault lol

[Steph De Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read Shakespeare's sonnet sequence as an undergraduate, wavering between eagerness for critical analysis and a wide-eyed romanticism nurtured by recent exposure to Keats and Swinburne. Now, years later, I suspect that little has changed, although I did, perhaps, snort rather more loudly in derision at the poet's painfully transparent attempts at seduction in the early sonnets (through preying on his lady's insecurities about ageing and death).

I'm also more willing to admit, this time around, that Shakespeare's sonnet-writing displays wide variations in quality: some are soaringly beautiful, others trite and unremarkable. I enjoyed revisiting such old favourites as Sonnet 18 and Sonnet 116, and rediscovering some other excellent selections, including Sonnets 36 and 138. Ultimately, however, nothing comes close to the tender, melancholic beauty of Sonnet 73; in this collection, Shakespeare's genius is epitomised in the line "bare ruined choirs where late the sweet birds sang", which knocks the breath out of me every single time I read it, and singlehandedly makes this a volume to treasure.

[Zain · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.57

I FINISHED!!!!!!!!! In might I add, less than six months.

This copy does not have notes. Get a copy with notes. Notes are the best part of classics and I had to look up every single sonnet to actually understand everything. Other than that 50% of this is incredibly dull and 30% of this is interesting and 20% of this is actually beautiful.

'Then if he thrive and I be cast away,
The worst was this, my love was my decay'

[🤍 Bookish Em 🤍]

My favorites are sonnets 18 and 130, however, I will say that most of the sonnets go over my head. 🙃 YouTube has been a lifesaver in helping me interpret/ understand these.

Btw, there is a reading of sonnet 130 by Alan Rickman on YouTube that I love. 🥺❤️

[Emmawho97 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greatful i started getting a degree in English lit at uni, cause otherwise i would have never known just how beautiful this is.

[Evan Pacini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who does not need a book in which they can look up masterworks of his, take inspiration, or merely look up to his work?

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a glutton for punishment. I began and read half the sonnets last year. I gave up because it was hard work and had to look up an analysis for nearly every sonnet.

Now I have returned, determined to complete the sonnets. I have and I am still none the wiser. I own this beautiful Chiltern edition which I am still happy to have but admit that Shakespeare’s sonnets elude me. Number 18 and 116 are my favourite but overall I found this hard going which is a shame as I love Shakespeare’s plays.