shakespeare

Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, likely between the 1590s and early 1600s, at

the height of his fame. The sonnets were first published as a collection in 1609.

Scholars debate the identities of who Shakespeare was writing his sonnets for.

Many believe the subjects about whom Shakespeare wrote poetry were

both a young nobleman, possibly the Earl of Southampton, and a "Dark

Lady," a mysterious woman of complex attraction.

A Shakespearean sonnet consists of 14 lines, follows the ABAB-CDCD-EFEF-

GG rhyme scheme, and is composed of three quatrains (four-line units) and a

final rhymed couplet that often presents a twist or resolution.

Shakespearean sonnets often explore themes of love, beauty, time, and

mortality.