Petrarch
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.
The Italian poet Petrarch was most famous for the 317 sonnets that he kept in Petrarch's Canzoniere (song book).
Petrarch (317 sonnets in his collection Il Canzionere)
Italian poet Petrarch wrote sonnets to Laura in his collection "Canzoniere." These sonnets explore his unrequited love for a woman named Laura and are considered a classic example of love poetry.
This is akin to asking whether the Pope is Catholic. Shakespeare is the second-most famous writer of sonnets in the world (after Petrarch).
His sonnets focused on worldly interests of romance and nature.
His sonnets focused on worldly intrests of romance and nature.
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 Petrarch, 1304-1374, was famous for his sonnets two hundred years before Shakespeare was born.
Francesco 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.