Scholars believe Shakespeare wrote his sonnets for private consumption.

He seems to have planned that they be published in two series.

There have been two rival schools of commentators : the one claimed that Shakespeare unlocked his heart in his sonnets, the other claimed them more than literary exercises. We have to consider the age during which Shakespeare lived. Love-sickness was expressed with all its reproaches, plaints and entreaties since it was the convention of the age. These sonnets of Shakespeare afford a clue to his personality and temperament and of course the occasional touches of his autobiography could never be denied. The impression of Shakespeare the Man from the plays is effectively confirmed by the sonnets.

The sonnets present a conflict in Shakespeare caught between two loves. He speaks of a man and a woman both of whom he has loved dearly. Ultimately, Shakespeare yields up his mistress rather than lose up the friendship of the man, who it is believed to be his patron, the Earl of Southampton. The woman in question is the "black-eyed wanton" beauty, Mary Fitton, who takes a fancy to him, which has been misconstrued as love.