We will never know for sure how "true" the 1609 Quarto is to Shakespeare's originals. Some scholars doubt Shakespeare's authorship of sonnets 145, 153, and 154, which are considered poorer in quality than the others. But this is likely simply due to Shakespeare's lack of poetic inspiration (he was human, after all).

Can you tell me the form of a sonnet?

A sonnet is in verse form and has fourteen lines of iambic pentameter. Shakespeare's sonnets follow the pattern "abab cdcd efef gg", and Petrarch's sonnets follow the pattern "abba abba cdecde". All the lines in iambic pentameter have five feet, consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.

I was wondering if we know the specific time period in which Shakespeare wrote his sonnets.

The sonnets were composed over an unknown period of time, probably between 1591 and 1598. Scholars have tried to date the sonnets by looking at hints within the poems themselves, but there is no consensus.

Who is Shakespeare's Dark Lady?

Twenty-four of Shakespeare's sonnets are addressed to a woman. We have little information about this woman, except for a description the poet gives of her over the course of the poems. Shakespeare describes her as 'a woman color'd ill', with black eyes and coarse black hair. Thus, she has come to be known as the "Dark Lady". There are scholars who believe that the Dark Lady could be one of three historical women: Mary Fitton, a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth; Lucy Morgan, a brothel owner and former maid to Queen Elizabeth; and Emilia Lanier, the mistress of Lord Hunsdon, patron of the arts. Some also consider William Davenant's mother to be the Dark Lady, but only because Davenant claimed to be Shakespeare's illegitimate son. To find out what Shakespeare thinks about the dark lady, read the analysis of sonnets 144 and 130 in my "Sonnets" section.

Were Shakespeare's sonnets about his love for another man?

Shakespeare's early sonnets are indeed about his love for another man. But whether this means without a doubt that Shakespeare was gay is a different matter. It was not uncommon for men in Elizabethan England to express their deep love and affection for male friends.

Do we know the order in which Shakespeare wrote his plays?

Many scholars have tried to find a logical order in the sonnets but none of them have been completely successful. The events in the sonnets are barely outlined. We can make an educated guess, but we will likely never know for sure.

What were the two long narrative poems Shakespeare wrote that were published between 1592 and 1594?

During those years Venus and Adonis and the Rape of Lucrece were published.