Sonnets

To read Shakespeare’s sonnets as originally published in 1609 is to come to terms with a rather different text than that found in the collected works. Here they stand alone as the verse of an Elizabethan poet, as a fresh and consistent body of writing. Although the book has been studied for centuries, its contents are still wrapped in mystery. The precise circumstances of publication may never be it remains uncertain when the poems were written and to whom, whether the text was revised for publication or even authorized, and whether its appearance was designed to tantalize a knowing coterie or delight the wider world with (as Keats wrote) "fine things said unintentionally." This Octavo Edition features beautiful images of the entire book, searchable live text, and bibliographical information. Commentary by Arthur Freeman.