I not been able to share ideas with (and to borrow from) many col-
leagues and past editors. Several recent editors of the poems have
been exceptionally kind in offering advice and additional assis-
tance. John Kerrigan has been particularly helpful and encourag-
ing, especially since his edition of the Sonnets is such an impossibly
fine example to follow. His careful reading of the typescript saved
me from many errors. Katherine Duncan-Jones has offered many
wise words, in print and in person, without which this edition
would be much poorer than it is. A helpful conversation with Helen
Vendler on punctuation has also left its mark on many lines of the
Sonnets, and John Roe has offered many helpful comments over
several years. Hyder Rollins’s monumental Variorum editions have
been daily and invaluable companions.
CONTENTS
PART 1:
List of Illustrations ix
Introduction 1
Shakespeare the Poet 1
Venus and Adonis 6
Publication and Date of Composition 6
Dedication 10
Literary Milieu 15
Lucrece 40
Publication and Date of Composition 40
The Argument, Sources, and Politics 45
Reading (in) Lucrece 55
Rape and Consent 66
The Passionate Pilgrim 74
‘Let the bird of loudest lay’ 82
Shakespeare’s Sonnets 91
Publication and Circulation 91
Dedication 98
Date and Sequence 103
Sources 111
Reading the Sonnets 118
A Lover’s Complaint 138
Date and Attribution 138
The Poem and its Context 140
Poems Attributed to Shakespeare in the Seventeenth Century 146
‘Shall I die?’ 148
A Funeral Elegy 152
Editorial Procedures 159
Abbreviations and References 160
VENUS AND ADONIS 171
LUCRECE 237
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 339
List of Illustrations ix
Introduction 1
Shakespeare the Poet 1
Venus and Adonis 6
Publication and Date of Composition 6
Dedication 10
Literary Milieu 15
Lucrece 40
Publication and Date of Composition 40
The Argument, Sources, and Politics 45
Reading (in) Lucrece 55
Rape and Consent 66
The Passionate Pilgrim 74
‘Let the bird of loudest lay’ 82
Shakespeare’s Sonnets 91
Publication and Circulation 91
Dedication 98
Date and Sequence 103
Sources 111
Reading the Sonnets 118
A Lover’s Complaint 138
Date and Attribution 138
The Poem and its Context 140
Poems Attributed to Shakespeare in the Seventeenth Century 146
‘Shall I die?’ 148
A Funeral Elegy 152
Editorial Procedures 159
Abbreviations and References 160
VENUS AND ADONIS 171
LUCRECE 237
THE PASSIONATE PILGRIM 339
‘LET THE BIRD OF LOUDEST LAY’ 371
PART2:
SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS 379
A LOVER’S COMPLAINT 693
appendix 719
Poems Attributed to Shakespeare in the
Seventeenth Century 719
Index 729
Index of First Lines 748
SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS 379
A LOVER’S COMPLAINT 693
appendix 719
Poems Attributed to Shakespeare in the
Seventeenth Century 719
Index 729
Index of First Lines 748
PART 1
PART 2
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