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Petrarch (317 sonnets in his collection Il Canzionere)
This is akin to asking whether the Pope is Catholic. Shakespeare is the second-most famous writer of sonnets in the world (after Petrarch).
He didn't write Petrarch's sonnets. He didn't write Edmund Spenser's sonnets. He didn't write Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnets, and especially not "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."
Francesco Petrarca, better known as Petrarch.
Sonnets were so popular because back in Shakespeare's time, people were very into romantic poetry, and sonnets are perfect for that. The sonnets of the Italian poet Petrarch were particularly romantic and popular.
Petrarch (317 sonnets in his collection Il Canzionere)
This is akin to asking whether the Pope is Catholic. Shakespeare is the second-most famous writer of sonnets in the world (after Petrarch).
Francesco Petrarch, 1304-1374, was famous for his sonnets two hundred years before Shakespeare was born.
He didn't write Petrarch's sonnets. He didn't write Edmund Spenser's sonnets. He didn't write Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnets, and especially not "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."
Francesco Petrarca, better known as Petrarch.
Sonnets were so popular because back in Shakespeare's time, people were very into romantic poetry, and sonnets are perfect for that. The sonnets of the Italian poet Petrarch were particularly romantic and popular.
Petrarch
The rhyme scheme is different. Petrarchian sonnets start off ABBAABBA whereas Shakespearean ones go ABABCDCD
Unattainable love is a central theme in Petrarch's sonnets. The object of his affection, Laura, is often depicted as a distant, idealized figure that he can never fully possess. This unattainability adds to the intense longing and yearning present in Petrarchan poetry.
Shakespeare did not title his sonnets.
The Italian poet Petrarch was most famous for the 317 sonnets that he kept in Petrarch's Canzoniere (song book).
Shakespearean sonnets - sonnets by Shakespeare