William Shakespeare is considered the greatest sonneteer in English literature, known for his 154 sonnets, which explore themes of love, beauty, and mortality.

A Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a final couplet (two-line stanza), with a specific rhyme scheme and meter.

Sir Thomas Wyatt is credited with introducing the sonnet form to England, translating Italian sonnets and writing his own original sonnets.

Francesco Petrarca, also known as Petrarch, is renowned for his sonnets, particularly his collection 'Canzoniere', which explores the themes of love and loss.

Edmund Spenser's sonnet sequence 'Amoretti' consists of 89 sonnets, addressing themes of love and marriage.

Sir Philip Sidney's sonnet sequence 'Astrophel and Stella' explores the themes of love, beauty, and unrequited love.

John Milton's sonnet 'On His Blindness' reflects on his loss of sight and his unwavering faith in God.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti's sonnet sequence 'The House of Life' explores the themes of love, beauty, and mortality.

Dylan Thomas's sonnet 'Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night' is a powerful reflection on mortality and the importance of fighting against death.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnet sequence 'Sonnets from the Portuguese' is a collection of love sonnets addressed to her husband, Robert Browning.

John Keats's sonnet 'When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be' reflects on the transience of life and the desire for immortality.

Charles Baudelaire's sonnet sequence 'Les Fleurs du Mal' explores themes of beauty, decadence, and the darker aspects of human nature.

T.S. Eliot's 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock' is a modernist sonnet that explores themes of alienation, anxiety, and unrequited love.

Adrienne Rich's sonnet sequence 'Crossed Wires' explores themes of gender, sexuality, and the experiences of women in a patriarchal society.

William Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 18' is one of his most famous sonnets, beginning with the line 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'