This is a collection of resources, online and off, that may be useful in appreciating and enjoying Shakespeare’s sonnets. It’s part of a project to read and annotate all of Shakespeare’s sonnets inspired by Sir Patrick Stewart reading Shakespeare’s sonnets. The project includes an overview and brief introduction to Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Books Related to Shakespeare and his Sonnets
Editions of the Sonnets
Booth, Stephen. Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Edited with Analytic Commentary. Yale University Press, New Haven CT. 1977 Rev. ed., 1978; Rev.ed., 2000. ISBN: 9780300085068.
Booth first published his thoughtful reading of the sonnets in long essay (An Essay on Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT 1969). Then he published his edition of the sonnets, with extensive commentary. Booth was the first to publish images of the Quarto edition side by side with his edition of each sonnet. It’s still one of my favorite editions, despite Booth’s occasional heteronormative obliviousness.
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Burrow, Colin. Ed. Complete Sonnets and Poems: The Oxford Shakespeare. (Oxford World’s Classics). Oxford University Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0199535798.
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Duncan Jones, Katherine. Ed. Shakespeare’s Sonnets: Revised (Arden Shakespeare). Arden: Third Edition; 2010. ISBN: 978-1408017975.
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Mowat, Barbara A. and Paul Werstine. Eds. Shakespeare’s Sonnets & Poems. (Folger Shakespeare Library). Simon & Schuster. 2015. ISBN:
This is the edition that Sir Patrick Stewart reads from in his videos. Generally the Folger editions are well-respected editions designed for students. They have good introductions, helpful ancillary essays, annotations, and are clear about emendations.
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Secondary Sources
Greenblatt, Stephen. Will in the World.
Post, Jonathan F. S. Shakespeare’s Sonnets and Poems A Very Short Introduction.
Shapiro, James.
Online Digital Facsimiles of the 1609 Quarto First Edition of the Sonnets
There are 13 known extant copies of the 1609 quarto. Some of them have been digitized and placed online in their entirety.
British Library Shelf mark C.21.c.44
The British Library General Reference Collection G.11181.
The Bodleian Library (Malone 34)
The Bodleian Library (Caldecott, Malone 886)
The British Museum (B. H. Bright, C.21.c.44)
The Elizabethan Club, Yale (Bentinck Huth copy)
Folger Library (Jolley Utterson Tite Locker Lampson copy)
The Folger Library (Sir Henry St. John Mildmay copy)
The Huntington Library (Chalmers Bridgewater copy)
Via Canada’s University of Victoria Internet Shakespeare Project
The Huntington Library (Luttrell Steevens Roxburghe Daniel Griswold Church copy)
The John Rylands Library (Farmer Earl Spencer copy)
A small selection of images at the John Rylands Library at The University of Manchester
S. W. Rosenbach’s private library (Lord Caledon copy)