The most celebrated of all English playwrights, William Shakespeare was originally best known for his poetry. Even today, The Sonnets is still his best-selling work throughout the world. In his own day, his narrative poems, Venus and Adonis and Lucrece, were published often and widely quoted and were the mainstays of his reputation as a writer. In this introductory study, Dennis Kay uncovers the underlying reason for the extraordinary success of Shakespeare's poetic works.

In the process he explores not only their place in the culture of early modern England but also the traditions that have helped them to endure. This book is directed toward all readers of Shakespeare. Newcomers will find it a concise and accessible overview of current approaches to his poetry, including questions of history, gender, and literary culture. For more advanced readers, William Shakespeare: Sonnets and Poems offers numerous fresh textual and historical insights.