1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page
4. Ask a Question

Join eNotes

To view the illustrations for this work get the:

eNotes Pass

Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...

Related Topics

1. Sonnets: Introduction
2. Text of the Sonnets
   1. Sonnets 1-10
   2. Sonnets 11-21
   3. Sonnets 21-30
   4. Sonnets 31-40
   5. Sonnets 41-50
   6. Sonnets 51-60
   7. Sonnets 61-70
   8. Sonnets 71-80
   9. Sonnets 81-90
   10. Sonnets 91-100
   11. Sonnets 100-110
   12. Sonnets 111-120
   13. Sonnets 121-130
   14. Sonnets 131-140
   15. Sonnets 141-154
3. Narrative
4. Background
5. Exemplary Sonnets
6. Characters
7. Themes
8. Critical Assessment
9. 20 Sonnets Analyzed
   1. Sonnet 1—From fairest creatures we desire increase
   2. Sonnet 6—Then let not winter's ragged hand deface
   3. Sonnet 18—Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
   4. Sonnet 19—Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws
   5. Sonnet 29—When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes
   6. Sonnet 30—When to the sessions of sweet silent thought
   7. Sonnet 35—No more be grieved at that which thou hast done
   8. Sonnet 38—How can my muse want subject to invent
   9. Sonnet 55—Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
   10. Sonnet 60—Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore
   11. Sonnet 66—Tired with all these, for restful death I cry
   12. Sonnet 73—That time of year thou mayst in me behold
   13. Sonnet 76—Why is my verse so barren of new pride
   14. Sonnet 79—Whilst I alone did call upon thy aid
   15. Sonnet 91—Some glory in their birth, some in their skill
   16. Sonnet 106—When in the chronicle of wasted time
   17. Sonnet 116—Let me not to the marriage of true minds
   18. Sonnet 130—My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun
   19. Sonnet 138—When my love swears that she is made of truth
   20. Sonnet 147—My love is as a fever longing still
10. Character Analysis
11. Principal Topics
12. Essays
    1. Shakespeare and the Narrator of the Sonnets
    2. Common Difficulties in Understanding the Sonnets
    3. Shakespeare's Career as a "Sonneteer"
    4. Sonnets 74 and 64: A Comparitive Analysis
    5. Analysis of Sonnet #29
    6. A Comparitive Interpretation of Three Shakespearean Sonnets and the Wife of Bath's Tale
13. Criticism
    1. Time in the Sonnets
    2. Overview
    3. Themes in the Sonnets
    4. Narrative and Dramatic Elements
    5. Language and Imagery
    6. The Poet
    7. The Friend
    8. The Dark Lady
14. Pictures
    1. Queen Elizabeth I
    2. Henry Wriothesley, Third Earl of Southhampton
    3. Eminent by-gone performers of Shakespeare's characters
    4. Shakespeare performance before Queen Elizabeth and her court
    5. Shakespeare's contemporaries
15. FAQs
    1. Why did Shakespeare use the sonnet cycle form?
    2. Who Is the "Young Man" addressed in the sonnets?
    3. Who Is the "Dark Lady" addressed in the sonnets?
    4. Do any of the sonnets depart from the standard Shakespearean sonnet form?
    5. What are the principal themes of the sonnets?
    6. Why do so many of the sonnets begin with a question?
16. Bibliography and Further Reading
17. Copyright

• Add Sonnets to your favorites