The Sonnets by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's sonnets, or simply The Sonnets, is a collection of poems in sonnet form written by William Shakespeare that deal with such themes as time, love, beauty and mutability. They were probably written over a period of several years. All 154 poems appeared in a 1609 collection, entitled SHAKE-SPEARES SONNETS, comprising 152 previously unpublished sonnets and two (numbers 138 and 144) that had previously been published in a 1599 miscellany entitled The Passionate Pilgrim. The Sonnets were published under conditions that have become unclear to history. Although the works were written by Shakespeare, it is not known if the publisher, believed to be Thomas Thorpe, used an authorized manuscript from him, or an unauthorized copy. Also, there is a mysterious dedication at the beginning of the text wherein a certain "Mr. W.H." is described by the publisher as "the onlie begetter" of the poems, but it is not known who this man was. In addition, several aspects of The Sonnets have been noted in the ongoing Shakespeare authorship question.

The 522nd greatest fiction book of all time


This book is on the following lists:

  1. - 110 Best Books: The Perfect Library (The Telegraph)
  2. - Great Books of the Western World (Great Books Foundation)
  3. - The Graphic Canon (Book)
  4. - How to Read and Why (Harold Bloom)
  5. - How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Reading List (Thomas C. Foster)

Buy This Book

Name Binding Sales Rank Lowest New Lowest Used Published
Complete Sonnets Hardcover 12927576 $4,120.00
The Sonnets Paperback 522722 $6.64 2014
Sonnets & Other Poems (Rsc Shakespeare) Paperback 5593931 $10.84 $1.16
Sonnets and Other Poems Hardcover 6030756 $42.22 $37.79
Shake-Speares Sonnets: Neuer Before Imprinted (Classic Reprint) Paperback 775963 $7.07 $8.01 2012
The Sonnets of William Shakespeare Hardcover 3151336 $35.00 $3.38
Shakespeare in Autumn (Seasons Edition -- Fall): Select Plays and the Complete Sonnets Hardcover 538000 $34.99 2021
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: (37 plays, 160 sonnets and 5 Poetry Books With Active Table of Contents) Kindle Edition 586387 $0.00 2021
[Shakespeare's Sonnets: Revised (Arden Shakespeare)] [By: William Shakespeare] [June, 2010] Paperback 2243813 $39.09 $40.96 2010
The Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint (Penguin Classics) Paperback 962009 $5.00 $0.01 2000
The Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint (New Penguin Shakespeare) Mass Market Paperback 3142869 $16.98 $0.01 1987
The Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint (Shakespeare, Penguin) Hardcover 5824094 $19.14 1987
Complete Sonnets Paperback 3658002 $7.20 $4.20 2009
The Sonnets (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) Kindle Edition 461847 $10.49 2006
The Sonnets (Shakespeare, Pelican) Kindle Edition 368694 $4.27 2001
Sonnets (Caedmon Shakespeare) Audio CD 1598974 $250.14 $8.14 1996
The Sonnets (Shakespeare, Signet Classic) Mass Market Paperback 2578818 $4.93 $0.01 1964
The Sonnets and Narrative Poems Kindle Edition 325692 $2.51 2009
The Sonnets and Narrative Poems Paperback 1602391 $5.41 $3.37 2009
The Sonnets (Signet Classic Shakespeare) Mass Market Paperback 212294 $3.99 $0.99 1999
The Sonnets and Other Poems (Modern Library Classics) Paperback 1063890 $3.86 $2.01 2009
Shakespeare's Sonnets Paperback 13613607 $14.41 $6.95 2008
The Sonnets (Chiltern Classic) Hardcover 1600330 $25.00 2021
The Songs and Sonnets of William Shakespeare Hardcover 10075532 $2.99
The Sonnets of William Shakespeare Paperback 4588225 $10.95 $14.13 2016
The Sonnets and Narrative Poems: The Complete Non-Dramatic Poetry (Signet Classics) Mass Market Paperback 2091621 $7.00 $0.01 1986
Shakespeare's Sonnets Paperback 697555 $19.94 $0.21 1980
Shakespeare's Sonnets (Arden Shakespeare: Third Series) Paperback 691739 $24.98 $1.49 1997
Shakespeare's Sonnets (Folger Library General Reader's Shakespeare) Mass Market Paperback 912325 $5.76 $0.01 1988
William Shakespeare's Sonnets: Poets for Pleasure Audio CD 8932271 $14.99
Shakespeare's Sonnets (Folger Shakespeare Library) Kindle Edition 721637 2016
The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare: Lucrece. Sonnets. A Lover's Complaint. The Passionate Pilgrim. Phoenix And Turtle. Index Hardcover 2417201 $26.95 $31.42 2015
The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Works 2nd Edition Hardcover 28129 $24.40 $12.44 2005
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Wordsworth Royals Series) Paperback 138649 $9.49 $3.99 1997
The Sonnets Hardcover 1067118 $11.62 $9.72 2013
The Sonnets Kindle Edition 458903 $2.99 2020
Shakespeare's Complete Sonnets & Poems (Forgotten Books) Paperback 10633406 $13.53 2008
Love Poems & Sonnets of William Shakespeare Kindle Edition 357214 $9.99 2013
Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day?: Sonnet 18 Paperback 971887 $7.00 2021
Shakespeare's Sonnets in English and Russian: Dual Language Edition Paperback 1582708 $14.99 2013
The Sonnets and Narrative Poems Kindle Edition 431154 2015
THE SONNETS (Illustrated) Kindle Edition 180949 2015
"Sonnets to the Fairest Coelia" and Three Letters: Volume 3: British Renaissance Re-Attribution and Modernization Series Paperback 877973 $20.00 2021
Shakespeare's Sonnets & Poems (Folger Shakespeare Library) Paperback 3192464 $7.88 $7.25 2006
Sonnets (Collector's Library) Hardcover 1088494 $4.57 $3.55 2010
William Shakespeare's 154 Sonnets Kindle Edition 1334269 $0.99 2013
The Illustrated Sonnets of William Shakespeare: With 154 Full-Page Illustrations Paperback 2717516 $11.44 $5.99 2011
Sonnets (Annotated) Kindle Edition 659498 $4.49 2014
Sonnets Audible Audio Edition 81443 $6.95 2010
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: All 37 plays, 160 sonnets and 5 poetry books (Global Classics) Kindle Edition 79710 2016
The Sonnets Paperback 2602566 $11.78 $10.35 2010
Shakespeare's Sonnets Paperback 1933195 $49.36 $49.34 2011
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: 38 Plays, 154 Sonnets, Narrative Poems, Audiobook Links Kindle Edition 52681 $1.99 2014
The Love Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare Hardcover 6271175 $3.99
Shakespeare's Sonnets (Arden Shakespeare) Paperback 944489 $6.70 $8.62 2010
Love Poems & Sonnets of William Shakespeare (International Collector's Library) Hardcover 6463979 $4.37
Shakespeare´s Sonnets: Reproduced in Facsimile from the Unrivalled Original in the Library.... Paperback 2130666 $19.90 2017
Sonnets (French Edition) Hardcover 994637 $25.95 2019
Sonnets Hardcover 7183161 $33.69 1974
Complete Sonnets Paperback 6067146 $11.49 2013
The Sonnets (The illustrated Shakespeare) Hardcover 7912725 $0.02 1995
Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold: Classic Love Poems with a Modern Twist Hardcover 165214 $9.03 $3.49 2018
William Shakespeare: Sonnets and Poems (English Authors Series) Hardcover 781903 $65.81 $5.89 1998
Neon Shakespeare: Sonnets for a New Millennium Paperback 960808 $12.99 $12.98 2013
Sonnets (Classic Illustrated Edition) Kindle Edition 131452 2014
The Sonnets (Macmillan Collector's Library) Hardcover 3516931 $9.99 2016
The Sonnets (Illustrated) Kindle Edition 1319657 2013
Sonnets Hardcover 2981009 $287.86 $20.18 1978
Shakespeare's Sonnets Kindle Edition 504561 2019
The Sonnets Paperback 409708 $4.99 2017
Shakespeare's Sonnets Kindle Edition 3015379 2016
Shakespeare's Sonnets Paperback 9767077 $13.94 $4.93 2010
Shakespeare's Sonnets Kindle Edition 220393 2019
The Sonnets (New Cambridge Shakespeare Audio) Audio CD 2137502 $24.95 $20.37 1998
The Sonnets of William Shakespeare Paperback 4677134 $5.84 $20.78 2011
Shakespeare's Sonnets Paperback 623634 $8.99 $3.99 2017
All the Sonnets of Shakespeare Audible Audiobook 58813 $8.79 2021
The Sonnets Audible Audio Edition 65722 $9.95 2011
Love Sonnets of Shakespeare Kindle Edition 839670 2014
Love Sonnets of Shakespeare: Miniature Edition (Miniature Editions) Hardcover 2920497 $5.30 $0.01
Shakespeare's Sonnets Hardcover 685257 $62.96 $6.00 1986
Shakespeare's Sonnets: Revised (The Arden Shakespeare Third Series, 14) Hardcover 3902061 $92.61 $94.11 2010
The Sonnets Kindle Edition 1389246
Shakespeare's Sonnets Paperback 9944437 $15.47 $7.00 2009
The Sonnets (Macmillan Collector's Library Book 36) Kindle Edition 1401996 2016
The Sonnets Paperback 80484 $5.99 2017
The Sonnets of William Shakespeare Paperback 6342795 $1.99 $0.01
Shakespeare: The Sonnets for Writers Paperback 875175 $9.99 2017
The Sonnets (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) Paperback 2555727 $4.99 $0.01 1996
Shakespeare's Sonnets and Other Poems (Word Cloud Classics) Flexibound 704121 $14.99 2017
Shakespeare's Sonnets Hardcover 2025838 $0.33
Shakespeare's Sonnets (Forgotten Books) Paperback 3534351 $7.48 $8.19 2008
Shakespeare's Sonnets And A Lover's Complaint Hardcover 8005941 $22.95 $22.00 2015
Elizabethan Sonnet Cycles: Five Major Elizabethan Sonnet Sequences Hardcover 2584239 $44.79 $59.85 2013
The Sonnets (The Pelican Shakespeare) Paperback 285893 $10.00 2017
Shakespeare's Sonnets Paperback 12517015 $20.99 2009
All the Sonnets of Shakespeare Hardcover 40336 $13.05 $12.20 2020
Sonnets (No Fear Shakespeare) Paperback 140132 $2.01 $1.25 2004
Shakespeare's Sonnets Paperback 12933362 $199.97 2005
Elizabethan Sonnet Cycles: Five Major Elizabethan Sonnet Sequences (British Poets) Paperback 796425 $19.74 $28.31 2013
The Sonnets (Cambridge School Shakespeare) Paperback 2043189 $11.99 $1.49 1997
Shakespeare's Sonnets Kindle Edition 374594 2019
The Sonnets Paperback 309241 $5.99 2018
The Sonnets Of William Shakespeare... Paperback 7807769 $21.74 $21.76 2012
Sonnets & a Lover's Complaint (Everyman's Library (Paper)) Paperback 4603068 $5.95 $0.01 1995
The Annotated Shakespeare (Three Volumes in One): The Comedies, The Histories, Sonnets and Other Poems, The Tragedies and Romances Hardcover 126654 $51.00 $5.54 1978
The annotated Shakespeare Hardcover 4353951 $30.00 $7.95
The Songs and Sonnets of William Shakespeare (Calla Editions) Hardcover 445477 $20.10 $40.59 2014
The Complete Shakespeare Sonnets (Audio CD) Audio CD 1044626 $27.53 2000
Shakespeare's Sonnets (Highbridge Classics) Audio CD 724683 $13.82 $9.00 2005
The Sonnets of William Shakespeare: Complete and Unabridged Kindle Edition 713467 2014
Love Sonnets of Shakespeare Hardcover 276262 $1.95 $2.08 2014
Love Poems & Sonnets Of William Shakespeare: Illustrated Paperback 826418 $8.88 $12.24 2020
Elizabethan Sonnet Cycles: Five Major Elizabethan Sonnet Sequences (British Poets) Paperback 1836489 $21.63 $21.57 2016
Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold: Classic Love Poems with a Modern Twist Kindle Edition 942080 2018
Shakespeare's Sonnets, Retold Hardcover 2787973 $10.50 $10.39
Love Poems & Sonnets of William Shakespeare Paperback 234344 $8.93 $8.00 2020
Shakespeare's Sonnets (Folger Shakespeare Library) Mass Market Paperback 297767 $3.68 $0.99 2004
The Sonnets Kindle Edition 321305 2014
Complete Shakespeare's Sonnets (Illustrated) Paperback 642291 $3.59 2020
The Sonnets Paperback 1191057 $6.99 2020
Love Poems & Sonnets of William Shakespeare Hardcover 80573 $10.59 $1.81 1957
Shakespeare's Cats: The Complete Sonnets for the Literary Cat-Lover Paperback 501941 $10.95 $6.83 2014
Songs And Sonnets By William Shakespeare (1887) Paperback 4140691 $22.36 $20.99 2010
Remarks on the Sonnets of Shakespeare; With the Sonnets. Showing That They Belong to the Hermetic Class of Writings, and Explaining Their General Meaning and Purpose Paperback 5217947 $11.02 $8.67 2016
Shakespeare's Sonnets and Poems (Prince Classics) Hardcover 6145650 $15.14 2019
Complete Sonnets and Poems: The Oxford Shakespeare The Complete Sonnets and Poems (Oxford World's Classics) Paperback 192202 $12.16 $3.00 2008
The Sonnets of William Shakespeare Hardcover 2439015 $18.43 $15.99 2008
The Sonnets and Narrative Poems (Everyman's Library) Hardcover 973184 $41.96 $5.00 1992
The Complete Sonnets and Poems of William Shakespeare Paperback 874441 $7.95 $7.94 2011
The Sonnets of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English Paperback 759443 $9.99 $9.99 2012
The Sonnets of William Shakespeare (with the Famous Temple Notes) Hardcover 2464549 $9.48 $0.05
The Sonnets of William Shakespeare Hardcover 6985575 $24.67 $27.14 2016
Sonnets by William Shakespeare Audio CD 3386591 $13.15 $1.74 2005
The Sonnets (The Pelican Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare (2001-12-01) Paperback 4534338 $8.89 $4.05
The Sonnets (Signet Classic Shakespeare) Reprint edition by Shakespeare, William (1999) Mass Market Paperback Mass Market Paperback 11830640 $34.40 $31.93
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (37 plays, 160 sonnets and 5 Poetry Books With Active Table of Contents) Kindle Edition 3254 $0.99 2014
The Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint (Penguin Classics) Kindle Edition 165775 $9.98 2004
Complete Sonnets (Dover Thrift Editions) Kindle Edition 270464 $0.99 2012
The Sonnets (Shakespeare's Sonnets) Paperback 1081843 $5.76 $3.89 2005
The Sonnets (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) Paperback 1245022 $9.64 $2.43 2006
The Sonnets (The Pelican Shakespeare) Paperback 106363 $5.84 $1.24 2001
The Sonnets: Poems of Love Hardcover 817973 $1.55 $0.01 1980
The Sonnets and Narrative Poems - the Complete Non-Dramatic Poetry (Signet Classics) Mass Market Paperback 703300 $6.80 $6.66 2008
Sonnets and Narrative Poems (Everyman Signet Shakespeare) Hardcover 4139218 $10.75 $2.85 1992
The Sonnets and Other Poems (Modern Library Classics) Kindle Edition 572237 $2.99 2009
Shakespeare's Sonnets Paperback 488291 $8.99 2021
The Sonnets (The New Cambridge Shakespeare) Updated Edition Hardcover 4825698 $68.27 $39.95 2006
The Sonnets of Shakespeare: Edited from the Quarto of 1609 Paperback 2219386 $20.77 2021
The Sonnets and other Poems Hardcover 6384285 $26.61 $48.38 2010
Shakespeare's Sonnets: With Analytic Commentary Hardcover 2431720 $194.84 $59.95 1977
Delphi Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Illustrated) Kindle Edition 79095 $2.51 2011
Shakespeare's Sonnets: By William Shakespeare - Illustrated Paperback 602503 $5.39 2016
Complete Sonnets Paperback 5556141 $105.26 2011
The Sonnets (The Pelican Shakespeare) Kindle Edition 1139641 2017
Shakespeare's Sonnets (Yale Nota Bene) Paperback 524211 $14.58 $1.94 2000
Shakespeare's Sonnets: The Original Classics - Illustrated Kindle Edition 352037 2016
Complete Sonnets (Dover Thrift Editions: Poetry) Paperback 593805 $2.25 $0.99 1991
The Sonnets of William Shakespeare Paperback 8955998 $24.99 2009
The Sonnets (Classic poetry) Audio CD 1286121 $9.00 $1.85 1997
Shakespeare's Sonnets, and A Lover's Complaint Paperback 3651422 $20.50 $2.98 2003
[(The Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint: AND A Lover's Complaint)] [ By (author) William Shakespeare, Edited by John Kerrigan, Introduction by John Kerrigan, Notes by John Kerrigan ] [January, 2000] Paperback 1155889 $25.93 $94.00 2000
Shakespeare's Sonnets: Gift Edition (Arden Shakespeare) Hardcover 371200 $9.43 $8.99 2010
Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint Paperback 13599292 $16.13 2010
Shakespeare's Sonnets & Poems (Folger Shakespeare Library) Paperback 70318 $11.03 $1.90 2006
Sonnets et autres poèmes (Œuvres complètes, VIII) (French Edition) Leather Bound 2285023 $103.09 2021
The Sonnets and a Lover's Complaint (Penguin Clothbound Classics) Hardcover 104081 $14.82 $9.32 2010
Shakespeare's Sonnets: The Complete Illustrated Edition Hardcover 310264 $14.98 $8.66 2016
Shakespeare's Sonnets: Revised (The Arden Shakespeare Third Series, 14) Paperback 376492 $13.95 $6.01 2010