They were but sweet, but figures of delight,ĭrawn after you, you pattern of all those. Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew Yet nor the lays of birds nor the sweet smell That heavy Saturn laugh’d and leap’d with him. Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing, When proud-pied April dress’d in all his trim Therefore I lie with her and she with me,Īnd in our faults by lies we flatter’d be.įrom you have I been absent in the spring, O, love’s best habit is in seeming trust,Īnd age in love loves not to have years told: On both sides thus is simple truth suppress’d.īut wherefore says she not she is unjust? Simply I credit her false speaking tongue: Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,Īlthough she knows my days are past the best, Unlearned in the world’s false subtleties. That she might think me some untutor’d youth, I do believe her, though I know she lies, When my love swears that she is made of truth Had eyes to wonder, but lack tongues to praise. They had not skill enough your worth to sing:įor we, which now behold these present days,

I see their antique pen would have express’dĪnd, for they look’d but with divining eyes, Of hand, of foot, of lip, of eye, of brow,

Then, in the blazon of sweet beauty’s best, In praise of ladies dead, and lovely knights, I see descriptions of the fairest wights, The 10 Best Shakespeare Sonnets-Table of Contents Do you have a favorite that is not on the list? Share it with us in the comments. Of those 154 surviving poems, we’ve collected 10 of the best Shakespeare sonnets for you to enjoy. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, meaning each line has 10 syllables with the stress falling on the second syllable of each pair.

The traditional Shakespearean Sonnet form has 14 lines comprised of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and one rhyming couplet (two-line stanza). And that’s 154 sonnets that are so good that a lot of modern day sonneteers try to imitate them. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets that have survived into perpetuity.

More likely, there’ll be a pile of discarded crumpled papers under your desk before you ever write one you’ll actually let a person read. If you’ve ever tried to write a sonnet, you know that, more often than not, it doesn’t come out right the first time. Personally, I think he wrote several hundred more. Among other things I was a little skeptical about in lit classes, this number is a big one. Word on the street is that William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets.

Is a sonnet in iambic pentameter