Shakespeare's sonnets were first published in 1609, yet because of their unique form and provoking themes, they have endured the centuries. Shakespeare's sonnets address some of the deepest human emotions-love and beauty, jealousy and infidelity, and time and mortality. Some of the sonnets were directed to a man, while others to a woman. And some, such as sonnet 18-"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"-have joined the ranks of the most widely cited poems in English literature. Originally titled "Shakes-peares Sonnets, " his 154 poems are faithfully reproduced in this classic reprint.