Sonnets

The first 126 sonnets are addressed to a young man while the remaining 28 are addressed to a dark lady. Many of the sonnets deal with the themes of love beauty time mortality and the nature of art. One of Shakespeares most famous sonnets is Sonnet 18 which begins with the famous line Shall I compare thee to a summers day? The poem goes on to compare the beauty of the young man to the beauty of nature and concludes with the assertion that the young mans beauty will live on through the poem even as natures beauty fades with time. Another famous sonnet is Sonnet 116 which begins with the line Let me not to the marriage of true minds / Admit impediments. This sonnet is often read at weddings and celebrates the enduring nature of true love even in the face of challenges. Shakespeares sonnets are known for their use of poetic devices such as alliteration metaphor and personification. They are also known for their complex and sometimes ambiguous language which has led to much scholarly debate over the centuries. Overall Shakespeares sonnets are considered a cornerstone of English poetry and continue to be studied and admired by readers and scholars around the world.