All 154 of William Shakespeare's Sonnets Shakespeare's 154 sonnets contain some of the most exquisite and haunting poetry ever written, dealing with eternal themes such as love and infidelity, memory and mortality, and the destruction wreaked by time. Even after 400 years, 'what are Shakespeare's sonnets about?' and 'how are we to read them?' are still central and unresolved questions. William Shakespeare was born some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon and died in 1616. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. Il Disoriente A paperback and e-book series published by Intra. Global readability, Italian charm.