The Sonnets and Narrative Poems; Random House UK, 2000

Beyond the few known facts we have about William Shakespeare, our real knowledge of him comes from the substantial body of non-dramatic verse he left behind. The strikingly modern sonnets and the invigorating narratives drawn from classical subjects suggest that had Shakespeare concentrated his extraordinary energies on these forms alone, and had he never written a single play, he would still hold the place he does in the hierarchy of world literature.