Author(s): James Leyland

Reading, Writing & Storytelling

The small volume of 154 short poems entitled 'Shake-speares Sonnets' published in 1609 has mystified readers for centuries. Why are they so cryptic? Some scholars have felt that they are in some way autobiographical, while others have viewed them as abstract poetical exercises. Part of the problem is that we know so little about the life of the writer.