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Shakespeare's Sonnets

William Shakespeare · 1609

A 1609 printed collection of 154 sonnets by Shakespeare, mostly addressed to a young man and a woman known as the 'Dark Lady'.

These sonnets are Shakespeare's own poetry, published in his lifetime and considered his most personal surviving writing.

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Title page of the 1609 quarto of Shakespeare's Sonnets. An ornate woodcut border of scrolls and figures sits at top. Below, in large capitals: SHAKE-SPEARES, then spaced SONNETS, then Neuer before Imprinted. Printed imprint at bottom reads: AT LONDON By G. Eld for T. T. and are to be solde by William Aspley, 1609.
Shakespeare's Sonnets, quarto published by Thomas Thorpe, London, 1609.

About this source

What it is

This is the 1609 quarto titled Shake-speare's Sonnets, printed by George Eld for the publisher Thomas Thorpe. It contains 154 sonnets followed by the poem 'A Lover's Complaint'. Thirteen copies of this original printing are known to survive.

Why it matters

The sonnets explore love, time, beauty, jealousy and mortality, continuing a tradition started by Petrarch and brought into English by poets such as Thomas Wyatt. Unusually, the first 126 poems address a young man rather than a distant female beloved, and the rest concern a woman called the 'Dark Lady'. Scholars still debate who the dedication's mysterious 'Mr. W.H.' was, and whether Shakespeare even approved this publication, showing how much about his personal life remains uncertain.

Look closer

  • Why might scholars be so cautious about treating these poems as autobiography?
  • What does the unusual dedication to 'Mr. W.H.' make you want to ask?
  • How does addressing a young man, rather than a distant lady, break from poetic tradition?

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