William Shakespeare SonnetsWHAT ARE SONNETS? Sonnets are fourteen-line lyrical poems This form of poetry originated in Italy They were introduced to England during the Tudor era by Sir Thomas Wyatt
THE AUTHORSHIP OF THE SONNETS There is no documented evidence recording of when the sonnets were all written Therefore there is some doubt as to their true authorship! It is, however, certain that Shakespeare had written some of the sonnets as in 1598 a certain Francis Meres made reference to Shakespeare as "his sugared sonnets among his private friends." Meres appears to be criticising Shakespeare for fawning to his potential patrons
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THE THEMES OF THE SONNETS The themes of the Sonnets are about love They appear to be dedicated to a handsome boy and a rival poet together with a mysterious and aloof "dark" lady that they both love The sonnets are numbered and fall into three categories: Sonnets 1 to 126 are addressed to or concern a young man Sonnets 127-152 are addressed to or concern a dark lady Sonnets 153-154 are free adaptations of two classical Greek poems
The Sonnets can be accessed in full by clicking the following link:
THE PUBLICATION OF THE SONNETS BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE His collection of Sonnets were published in a book called "a Booke called Shakespeare's sonnettes". The Sonnets appeared, without Shakespeare's permission, in 1609 The 1609 quarto, entitled Shakespeares Sonnets, was published by Thomas Thorpe on May 20, 1609 Thomas Thorpe was granted a license to publish "a Booke called Shakespeare's sonnettes" and this entry is in the Stationer's Register Thorpe appeared to be 'cashing-in' on Shakespeare's name!
William Shakespeare Sonnets |
