Editions

  • Home
  • Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Retold
Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Retold

Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Retold

  • Classic Love Poems with a Modern Twist

'James Anthony has done something I would have confidently stated to be impossible. He has "translated" Shakespeare’s sonnets and he has done so with an insolent, loveable charm … A dazzling success’ – Stephen Fry

Rediscover the greatest love poetry ever written

Shall I compare you to a summer’s day?
You’re more delightful, always shining strong;
High winds blow hard on flowering buds in May,
And summer never seems to last that long…


Shakespeare’s sonnets are some of the nation’s favourite lines of verse, but the Elizabethan language can make it difficult to really understand them. Many guides offer to clarify the meaning, but lose the magic of the words by explaining them away.

James Anthony has done something boldly different.

He has rewritten the whole series of poems as sonnets using modern language, while retaining the rhythm and rhyme patterns that gives them such power. In doing so he breathes new life into the original poems and opens them up for a modern readership, demystifying Shakespeare’s eternal poetry with provocative new translations and delightful new lines.

Presented as an attractive book with the original sonnets facing their new translations, this is a stunning collection of beautiful love poems, made new.

Reviews

  • James Anthony has done something I would have confidently stated to be impossible. He has ‘translated’ Shakespeare’s sonnets and he has done so with an insolent, loveable charm … A dazzling success

    Stephen Fry

More from this Author

View all View all
View all View all

About the Author

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), many of which are regarded as the most exceptional works of drama ever produced, including Romeo and Juliet (1595), Henry V (1599), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1606) and Macbeth (1606), as well as a collection of 154 sonnets, which number among the most profound and influential love poetry in English. Shakespeare died in Stratford in 1616.

William Shakespeare

James Anthony

James Anthony was born in Essex, and studied Manufacturing Engineering at University. He worked for many years for the Ford Motor Company and has founded a range of procurement start-ups. By night, he writes poetry.

James Anthony

Read more

/content/dam/prh/articles/adults/2020/october/Main-unforgettable-christmas-gift-books-1800x1200.jpg

Recommendations

Beautiful books that make unforgettable Christmas gifts

Give the book-lover in your life something special with one of these gorgeously illustrated stories, clothbound classics or photography collections. Or, you know, just treat yourself.
/content/dam/prh/articles/archive/shakespeare-colouring-in-snippet-788x306.jpg

Extracts

A Midsummer Night's Dream colouring adventure

Get your pens and pencils ready to bring colour to Oberon’s magical forest from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
/content/dam/prh/articles/archive/8-greatest-moments-in-shakespeare-to-listen-to.jpg

Extracts

Six iconic moments of Shakespeare you should hear

Listen to iconic moments from some of our favourite Shakespeare plays hand-picked from the Classic BBC Radio Shakespeare series, featuring performers such as Ian McKellen

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience.

For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Strictly Necessary

Strictly Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions. See More.

Analytics

Analytics cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. These cookies may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. See More.

Preferences & Features

Preference and Feature cookies allow our website to remember choices you make, such as your language preferences and any customisations you make to pages on our website during your visit. See More.

Targeting / Advertising

Targeting cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you and your interests. They perform functions like preventing the same content from reappearing, ensuring ads are displayed and, in some cases, selecting content based on your interests. See More.