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I've been reading some works about his sonnets lately; The Original Order od Shakespeare's Sonnets by Denys Bray (1925) and Shakespeare's Sonnets Dated by Leslie Hotson (1949). I'd recommend either if you can find them.
The latter was purchased last week, and came complete with some inserted newspaper clippings from the early 1970's. They relate to the sonnets too, and one is a lengthy transcript of a speech called That the Thought of Hearts Can Mend; an Introduction to Shakespeare's Sonnets for Psychotherapists and Others.
Shakespeare's Sonnets are, sadly, all too frequently overlooked by even lovers of his work. They are a beautiful body of work.
How heavy do I journey on the way,
When what I seek, my weary travel's end,
Doth teach that ease and that repose to say
'Thus far the miles are measured from thy friend!'
The beast that bears me, tired with my woe,
Plods dully on, to bear that weight in me,
As if by some instinct the wretch did know
His rider loved not speed, being made from thee:
The bloody spur cannot provoke him on
That sometimes anger thrusts into his hide;
Which heavily he answers with a groan,
More sharp to me than spurring to his side;
For that same groan doth put this in my mind;
My grief lies onward and my joy behind.
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