Romeo and Juliet. Macbeth. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Everyone can reel off the names of several of William Shakespeare’s very successful and infamous plays, but how many can name some of his equally brilliant poetry? Most people are aware that Shakespeare wrote poems, and they usually come up at some point in most English Literature courses, but the fame of his theatrical works has always overshadowed the beauty of his sonnets.
Shakespeare was a prolific writer in the fifty-two years he was alive; producing almost 40 plays, over 150 sonnets, two longer narrative poems and a handful of other shorter works of poetry too. In his early career, he only wrote plays but when the theatres were shut in 1593 for two years because of an outbreak of the plague, the actors had no need for new scripts, and Shakespeare turned his hand to writing poetry. His first attempts were the two long narrative poems The Rape of Lucrece and Venus and Adonis, both dealing with myths and legends that involve love and lust. He dedicated the two works to his current patron, Henry Wriothesely the Earl of Southampton, and both were frequently reprinted due to their popularity. A third, shorter narrative poem, dealing again with the subject of love, was published along with the first collection of sonnets in 1609, though experts have debated for centuries if this poetry really is Shakespeare’s work.
When it comes to poetry, is the collection of sonnets that William Shakespeare is most famous for. Although the collection of 158 poems was published in 1609, those who have studied Shakespeare have suggested that the poems were actually written throughout this lifetime, perhaps meant for his own amusement of a private reader. What lead Shakespeare to take the decision to allow the poems to be published at last is a mystery, like much of his life, though the collection was dedicated to a “Mr W.H.” who is named as the “begetter” of the poems.
It seems that the sonnets have been printed in the order they were written, if the poems are intended to tell a story. They deal with a man who is attracted to two women; his list for a married “dark lady” and his pure love for the “fair youth”. Although the poems are written from the first person point of view, there is no indication that Shakespeare is actually the man involved in the love triangle as this is a common writing style among many poets.
Although Shakespeare’s sonnets are undoubtedly not as famous as his theatrical works, some lines from his poetry have become well known thanks to their romantic nature and it is common to see them quoted in other literary works or even films as characters use his words to woo their intended. Lines such as that from Sonnet 18 are almost as familiar to modern readers as the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet.