The Shakespearean sonnets are considered among the most romantic poems ever written. It was the bard who kickstarted the modern love poetry movement with a collection of 154 love sonnets. You can still hear many of these on Valentine's Day and in marriage ceremonies today.
Among the collection, a few stand out and are used repeatedly. Even if you are not a poetry fan, you may recognize some of the texts. They're sure to get anyone in a romantic mood. After all, they've worked for hundreds of years.
Sonnet 18: The Valentine's Day Sonnet
Sonnet 18 is considered by many to be one of the most beautifully written verses in the English language. It has long been prized because Shakespeare was able to capture the spirit of love so simply.
The sonnet begins with those immortal words:
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
It is a quintessential love poem and that is why it so often used on Valentine’s Day.
Sonnet 18 is also a perfect example of Shakespeare's ability to explain human emotion so succinctly. In just 14 lines—as is the format of a sonnet—Shakespeare explains that love is eternal. He poetically contrasts this with the seasons, which change throughout the year.
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Sonnet 116: The Wedding Ceremony Sonnet
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 is one of the best-loved in the folio. It is a popular reading at weddings worldwide and the first line indicates why.
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
The sonnet is a wonderfully celebratory nod to love and marriage. This is despite the fact that its reference to marriage is that of minds rather than the actual ceremony.
Also, the sonnet describes love as eternal and unfaltering, an idea reminiscent of the wedding vow, “in sickness and in health.”
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out ev’n to the edge of doom.
Read MoreAn Introduction to Shakespearean SonnetsBy Lee Jamieson
Sonnet 29: The Love Conquers All Sonnet
It's said that the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge found Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29 to be a personal favorite. It's no wonder, either. It examines how love is a cure-all for our troubles and worries.
It begins with a rather ominous scene, which makes one wonder how this could ever be a love poem.
When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
Yet, by the end, it offers hope and the thought that these bad feelings can be overcome by inspiring love.
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
(Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven's gate;
Sonnet 1: The Share Your Beauty Sonnet
Sonnet 1 is deceptive because, despite its name, scholars don't believe it was necessarily his first.
Addressed to the so-called “fair youth,” the poem includes a sequence in which the poet encourages his handsome male friend to have children. To do otherwise would prove selfish.
From fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty's rose might never die,
The suggestion is that his beauty may live on through his children. If he did not pass this on to future generations, he would only be greedy and pointlessly hoarding his beauty.
Within thine own bud buriest thy content
And, tender churl, makest waste innigg*rding.
Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee.
Sonnet 73: The Old Age Sonnet
This sonnet has been described as Shakespeare’s most beautiful, but it is also one of his most complex. Certainly, it is less celebratory in its treatment of love than others, yet it is no less powerful.
In Sonnet 73, the poet is still addressing the "fair youth," but the concern is now how age will affect their love for one another.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
As he addresses his love, the speaker hopes that their love will grow with time. It is the fire within that the lover sees, proving the potency and endurance of true love.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
FAQs
Essentially, this sonnet presents the extreme ideal of romantic love: it never changes, it never fades, it outlasts death and admits no flaw. What is more, it insists that this ideal is the only love that can be called “true”—if love is mortal, changing, or impermanent, the speaker writes, then no man ever loved.
What do Shakespeare sonnets say about love? ›
Throughout his sonnets, Shakespeare clearly implies that love hurts. Yet despite the emotional and physical pain, like the speaker, we continue falling in love. Shakespeare shows that falling in love is an inescapable aspect of the human condition—indeed, expressing love is part of what makes us human.
Is Sonnet 18 about romantic love? ›
Answer and Explanation: Sonnet 18 is indeed a love poem, as most of Shakespeare's sonnets were. It is a poem about loving someone so much that the speaker seeks to immortalize him in a poem so that he can never truly die.
Is Sonnet 116 a romantic poem? ›
Sonnet 116 is a poem by William Shakespeare. Its primary theme is the constancy of love: the speaker argues that true love does not change even if lovers alter over time. As with almost all of Shakespeare's sonnets, it is written in iambic pentameter.
What is the tone and mood of the speaker in Sonnet 116? ›
Sonnet 116 is about romantic love and steadfastness. The tone of the poem is calm and certain, just like its subject matter: the speaker of the poem explains that true love does not change over time. It is, as the speaker explains, ''an ever fixed mark'', a guiding star for lovers to follow under any circ*mstances.
Is Sonnet 73 a romantic poem? ›
The last two lines of "Sonnet 73" show that the person the speaker loves has stronger feelings of love because it is impermanent. They have chosen to embrace the finality instead of becoming upset by it. These final two lines make the sonnet a love poem.
What is the most famous romantic sonnet? ›
Sonnet 18. One of Shakespeare's best known and most loved sonnets, this reading explains that the stability of love will immortalise a partner's beauty and youth. 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Why is Sonnet 18 so famous? ›
William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 is justifiably considered one of the most beautiful verses in the English language. The sonnet's enduring power comes from Shakespeare's ability to capture the essence of love so clearly and succinctly.
What is the most romantic line in Shakespeare? ›
Most Romantic Lines By Shakespeare You Should Know
- “Hear my soul speak. ...
- “Doubt that the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move his aides, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love” (Hamlet)
- “I love you with so much of my heart that none is left to protest” (Much Ado About Nothing)
Shakespeare's sonnets cover a wide range of themes, but some of the most prominent revolve around love, lust, and unfaithfulness. Many of his sonnets address the intense and complex emotions associated with romantic love, often exploring the agony and ecstasy of love's various stages.
by Editorial
- Thou art wise as thou art beautiful. — A Midsummer Night's Dream. ...
- I do love nothing in the world so well as you. — Much Ado About Nothing. ...
- So is mine eye enthrallèd to thy shape. ...
- What, with my tongue in your tail? ...
- By the roses of the spring, ...
- I do love you more than words can wield the matter,
However, Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? “) and Sonnet 116 (“Let me not to the marriage of true minds”) are often considered among the most famous and emotionally resonant. Sonnet 18 celebrates the eternal beauty of the beloved, while Sonnet 116 speaks to the enduring nature of love itself.
Is a sonnet a romantic poem? ›
Sonnets are associated with desire: for centuries poets have used the frame of the sonnet to explore the complicated human experience of romantic love. English poets borrowed the sonnet form from the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch.
Do Shakespeare's sonnets frequently focus on love and romance? ›
Sonnets are a kind of poetry. Sonnets are written in free verse, with no fixed structure or rhyme scheme. The two types of sonnets are English (Shakespearean) and Italian (Petrarchan). Shakespeare's sonnets frequently focus on love and romance.
What feelings does a sonnet describe? ›
The rhyme scheme of the octave is typically abba abba, while the sestet can have various rhyme schemes, such as cde cde or cdcdcd. The sonnet is often used to express love, but it can also be used to express a wide range of emotions, including anger, sadness, joy, and hope.
What effect does a sonnet have? ›
The more or less set rhyme patterns occurring regularly within the short space of fourteen lines afford a pleasant effect on the ear of the reader, and can Create truly musical effects. The rigidity of the form precludes a too great economy or too great prodigality of words.
What is the mood of the poem How do I love thee? ›
The mood of the poem is romantic and hopeful. The symbols in the poem strengthen the idea of a strong, enduring love. The speaker uses them to highlight that her feelings for her beloved cannot be measured.
What is the desire in Sonnet 116? ›
Unlike the previous texts, Shakespeare does not seem to believe that desire overrules 'true' love, instead believing that love is eternal once the (wedding) vow has been made. Curiously, the poem is not addressed to neither the 'Fair Youth' nor the 'Dark Lady' mentioned throughout Shakespeare's poetry.
