When did Shakespeare start writing sonnets?

Shakespeare likely began writing his sonnets in the early 1590s, as it was during this period that the poetic form achieved widespread popularity. Sonneteers of the time, including Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, were experimenting with the Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet, and Shakespeare's works were published shortly thereafter. While the exact first date is uncertain, it is likely that Shakespeare's earliest sonnets were composed around 1593.