Drawing both on the tenets of classical rhetoric and on contemporary critical theory, Heather Dubrow here offers a bold and persuasive reading of Shakespeare's nondramatic poems. She calls into question prevailing critical views of Venus and Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece, and the sonnets and asserts that in these poems Shakespeare uses rhetoric with great subtlety and force to effect characterizations as rich in psychological and moral complexities as those found in the plays.