The "Sonnets of William Shakespeare", a cycle of 154 linked poems, were first published in 1609. This edition, beautifully illustrated with contemporary portraits and modern artwork by the illustrator Ian Penney, contains all of the poems and they deal with many of Shakespeare's most common themes: jealousy, betrayal, melancholy, and are written in the same beautiful and innovative language that we have come to know from his plays. They ache with unfulfilled longing, and for many they are the most complete and moving meditations on love ever written.