William Shakespeare is a globally iconic writer, known for his works such as "Hamlet," "Macbeth," and "Romeo and Juliet." However, his poetic musings on love are among the most powerful and poignant poems ever written. This Penguin Classics edition of "Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint" is edited by John Kerrigan.

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" The language of Shakespeare's sonnets has become inseparable from the language of love in English, but the power and tenderness of these poems have not diminished over the years. When the volume of Shakespeare's poems first appeared in 1609, he had already written most of the great works that made him famous. The 154 sonnets – almost all addressed to a beautiful young man, "Mr. W.H." or a treacherous "dark lady" – include some of the most exquisite and orchestrated poems ever written, touching on timeless themes like love and infidelity, memory and mortality, as well as the devastation caused by Time.

Also included is "A Lover's Complaint," initially published with the sonnets, in which a young woman is heard lamenting the betrayal by a heartless seducer. In the inspired introduction, John Kerrigan examines how the sonnets are interconnected, the ways these works have been interpreted, and the themes that permeate them. This edition also includes suggestions for further reading, notes on each poem, history of the text, variations and additional sonnets, as well as an index of first lines.

If you enjoyed "Sonnets and A Lover's Complaint," you may be interested in John Milton's "Paradise Regained," also available in the Penguin Classics edition.

"Shakespeare led a life of allegory: his works are the comments on it" - John Keats.