William Shakespeare Sonnets

William Shakespeare Index

• 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

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 Sonnets of 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

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