Read & Co. Classics presents this new beautiful edition of “Shakespeare’s Sonnets” (1609). Featuring a specially commissioned new biography of William Shakespeare, it is a must for classical poetry enthusiasts and newcomers alike. Shakespeare’s collection of 154 sonnets beautifully explore the age-old human themes of love and beauty, time and mortality, and contain some of the most revered lines in poetry such as, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” from sonnet no. 18. Each poem is composed of 14 lines and their structure forms an ‘English’ sonnet. The first part of the collection is dedicated to a young man, the second to a ‘dark lady’, and whether the sonnets are autobiographical or based on characters of fantasy is still debated today. William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is considered to be the greatest writer in the English language and is celebrated as the world’s most famous dramatist.