Notes

1] Shakespeare's 154 sonnets were first published in 1609 by Thomas Thorpe in an unauthorized edition. They are there dedicated to a mysterious Mr. W. H., whom some critics have identified with Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, others with William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. Many other possibilities have been suggested. Most of the sonnets were probably written before 1598, for in that year Francis Meres refers in Palladis Tamia to Shakespeare's "sugred Sonnets among his private friends." More precise dating is not possible though the literature on the subject is vast. The numbering of the sonnets here follows that of Thorpe and of modern standard editions. Thorpe's order is clearly wrong, but no agreement has been reached as to their correct order. Of the 154 sonnets, 126 are addressed to the friend, a young aristocrat, and 26 deal with the poet's love for a dark lady, who is also the friend's mistress. Friendship wins out. The two final sonnets are not part of the story but are adaptations of verses by the Byzantine poet Marianus. Among the best modern editions are those by H. E. Rollins in the New Variorium Shakespeare (1944).

9] conceit: thought.

11] Where ... Decay: where destructive Time fights in alliance with Decay.

Other poems by William Shakespeare