A Companion to Shakespeare's Sonnets

How should we read Shakespeare’s sonnets? What knowledge and experience do readers need to appreciate the resonance of these vibrant poems? And in what context is their accomplishment most apparent? This authoritative Companion to Shakespeare’s sonnets represents the myriad ways of answering these questions and of thinking about the remarkable achievement of the sonnets.

The Companion demonstrates how the sonnets provide a mirror in which cultures can read their own critical biases. It also shows how the sonnets tease readers with the prospect of learning something about the inner life of this most enigmatic of writers. Its original contributions consider the form, sequence, and content of the sonnets, the literary context in which they were produced, and the ways they have been edited and printed. Informed by the latest theoretical, cultural, and archival work, the text also takes account of the work of earlier generations of scholars.