Magic & Mystery Of Shakespeare’s Sonnets

Was Shakespeare better known for his plays or his sonnets? Well we can go on arguing about that. The Independent carries a piece by Boyd Tonkin who introduces his selection of sonnets, while fans nominate their favourites to mark the 400th anniversary.

“In 1609, the publisher Thomas Thorpe issued Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets in a handy quarto-sized edition, with a mysterious dedication to ‘Mr W.H.’, their ‘only begetter’, and the poem ‘A Lover’s Complaint’ printed as a coda.

“The sonnets were deemed passé when he (Shakespeare) published them. Yet this collection of 154 poems, romantic, revealing and rude, changed literature forever.” More here… He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon” (or simply “The Bard”).

Even after 400 years, Shakespeare’s surviving works, that consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems, weave a magic spell over lovers of English language. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. More here…

Above: The Avon at Stratford. Painted by F. S. Walker, circa 1906. See here…