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Sonnet 138

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Sonnet 138 in performance



138

Sonnet 138


When my love swears that she is made of truth
I do believe her, though I know she lyes,
That she might think me some untuterd youth,
Unlearned in the world's false subtleties.
Thus vainely thinking that she thinks me young,
Although she knows my dayes are past the best,
Simply I credit, her false speaking tongue:
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressd.
But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
And wherefore say not I that I am old?
O, love's best habit is in seeming trust,
And age in love loves not to have yeares told:
Therefore I lye with her and she with me,
And in our faults by lyes we flatter'd be.




















138

Sonnet 138


a When my love swears that she is made of truth
b I do believe her, though I know she lyes,
a That she might think me some untuterd youth,
b Unlearned in the world's false subtleties.
---------------------------------
c Thus vainely thinking that she thinks me young,
d Although she knows my dayes are past the best,
c Simply I credit her false speaking tongue:
d On both sides thus is simple truth suppressd.
---------------------------------
e But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
f And wherefore say not I that I am old?
e O, love's best habit is in seeming trust,
f And age in love loves not to have yeares told:
---------------------------------
g Therefore I lye with her and she with me,
g And in our faults by lyes we flatter'd be.

Notes

















Lying

Back

"Lye" (lie) could mean either

OED v.2 1a. "To tell a lie or lies; to utter falsehood; to speak falsely."

OR

OED v.1 1f. "to lie with (or †by) : to have sexual intercourse with."

Which one would you pick, or is the poem deliberately ambiguous?

Your notes:

Made of Truth

The word "truth" here is being used in the sense of OED n. 4.

"Honesty, uprightness, righteousness, virtue, integrity."


Why do you think the poet chooses the phrase "made of truth" rather than using a more direct way of saying virtuous?

That

In this case, "that" means "so that" (OED conj. 4b.)
What is the logic here for the poet?

Vanity

Stricly speaking, this should be OED 1.

"In a vain or futile manner; without advantage, profit, or success; to no effect or purpose; in vain; uselessly, fruitlessly, ineffectually."


Is there a reason to use this word instead of "uselessly" or "falsely"?

Credit

In this case, "credit" means "believe" (OED v 1a.)
Why use the word credit?

Wherefore

"Wherefore" means "why" (OED adv 2)
Why use this word instead of, for example, "why then," which would also fit the meter?

Habit

Habit could either be "bearing or behavior" (OED n. 4) or "custom" (OED n. 9a).
Which do you think is right, or is this ambiguous. And why choose this word instead of a synonym?

138

Sonnet 138 in performance



Iamb or Spondee

The meter of this line could simply be iambic:

u     /   u   /   u  /  u   /   u   /

When my love swears that she is made of truth


But the first four syllables could also include two unstressed followed by two stressed beats, like this:
u     u   /    /

When my love swears

How would read the line and why?

Quatrains

Notice that the rhume scheme divides the poem into four "quatrains" of four lines each, followed by a couplet. This has come to define the "Shakespearean Sonnet." The rhyme scheme suggests that each quatrain functions as a unit. Can you see any clues in the poem that this is true here?

Irregularity

Simply I credit her false speaking tongue


The meter of this line begins with a trochee (stressed followed by unstressed) in the word "simply." That's not unusual for an iambic poem, but this line contains another irregularity that is more unusual and more significant. See if you can spot it. And what does it mean?

Closure

The ending couplet, coming after more complex quatrains, usually generates a strong sense of closure (ending) for a sonnet. But sometimes that closure is partially contradicted by other factors. How final do you think the closure is in this sonnet?

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Background

Background

Shakespeare’s Sonnets were not published until 1609, but like most lyric poems of the era they were circulated in manuscript form, and evidence suggest most were written much earlier (sonnet sequences were highly fashionable in the 1590s). The numbering of the sonnets derives from the first edition, and scholars have since debated how authentic the arrangement is. The first 126 sonnets are addressed to a young man. Sonnets 127-152 are addressed to a woman, traditionally called the “Dark Lady” after her complexion as described in the poems themselves.


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Sonnet 69

69

Sonnet 69


Those parts of thee that the world's eye doth view
Want nothing that the thought of hearts can mend;
All tongues the voice of souls, give thee that due,
Uttering bare truth, even as foes commend.
Thy outward thus with outward praise is crown'd;
But those same tongues, that give thee so thine own,
In other accents do this praise confound
By seeing farther than the eye hath shown.
They look into the beauty of thy mind,
And that in guess they measure by thy deeds;
Then, churls, their thoughts, although their eyes were kind,
To thy fair flower add the rank smell of weeds:
But why thy odour matcheth not thy show,
The soil is this, that thou dost common grow.



























69

Sonnet 69


a Those parts of thee that the world's eye doth view
b Want nothing that the thoughts of hearts can mend;
a All tounges, the voice of souls, give thee that due,
b Uttering bare truth, even so as foes commend.
---------------------------------
c Thy outward thus with outward praise is crown'd;
d But those same tongues, that give thee so thine own,
c In other accents do this praise confound
d By seeing farther than the eye hath shown.
---------------------------------
e They look into the beauty of thy mind,
f And that in guess they measure by thy deeds;
e Then, churls, their thoughts, althought their eyes were kind,
f To thy fair flower add the rank smell of weeds:
---------------------------------
g But why thy odour matcheth not they show,
g The soil is this, that thou dost common grow.

Notes

















The Thought of Hearts

"The thought of hearts contrasts with "the world's eye" in Line 1.

What is the effect of putting the contrast between outward and inward in these terms?

Your notes:

World's Eye Doth View

What parts of a person does the "world's eye" view?

Why does the poet use the phrase "the world's eye" instead of saying "I" or "people"?

Want

"Want" here means "lack." It's a more common usage in the period.

But is there any reason why "want" might work better than a synonym?

All Tongues

The poet is characterizing people as "tongues." This figure of speech, in chiwch a part stands in for the whole, is synedoche.

Why do you think the speaker uses it here instead of just saying "all people"?

The Voice of Souls

Why might the poet call the tongue the voice of the soul?

Foes Commend

"As foes commend" means something like "as someone who doesn't like you is still forced to comend you for things that are obviously praisewhorthy."

Why does this poet imply that the praise given to the Young Man is grudging?

Outward Praise

How can praise be "outward"?

Crown'd

Why does the poet use “crowned” instead of something simple like "described"?

In Other Accents

The poet doesn't mean that people adopt a different accent when criticizing the Young Man, so why use this word?

The Beauty of Thy Mind

The lines that follow demonstrate that the speaker is criticizing the Young Man’s mind.

Technically “the beauty of thy mind” is neutral. It means something like “the relative beauty or lack of beauty.” But the effect is not immediately neutral.

What do you think the effect is?

They Measure by Thy Deeds

What does it mean to measure someone’s mind by their deeds?

Add the Rank Smell of Weeds

Is the narrator implying that others add this “rank smell of weeds”, or that the object of the sonnet actually possesses it?

Soil

“Soil” according to the Oxford English dictionary is “solution to a problem,” but the one passage the OED cites comes from this poem! It’s clearly not a common meaning.

What other meanings of “soil” are possible here?

Common

“Common” can mean several things:
“Shared alike”
“Public”
“Generally known”
“Ordinary”
“Lower class”
“Inferior”

Which of these do you think applies?

69

Sonnet 69 in performance

Sonnet 69 in performance

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Sonnet 116

116

Sonnet 116


Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
Oh no! It is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.






















116

Sonnet 116


a Let me not to the marriage of true minds.
b Admit impediments. Love is not love
a Which alters when it alteration finds,
b Or bends with the remover to remove:
--------------------------------- c O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
d That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
c It is the star to every wandering bark,
d Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
---------------------------------
e Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
f Within his bending sickle's compass come:
e Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
f But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
---------------------------------
g If this be error and upon me proved,
g I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

Notes




















Lying

"Lye" (lie) could mean either

OED v.2 1a. "To tell a lie or lies; to utter falsehood; to speak falsely."

OR

OED v.1 1f. "to lie with (or †by) : to have sexual intercourse with."

Which one would you pick, or is the poem deliberately ambiguous?

Your notes:

Let Me Not

Why does the speaker say “let me not” rather than just saying, “the marriage of true minds has no impediments”?

True Minds

What do you think "true" means here?

Impediments

In the Book of Common Prayer the marriage ceremony contains the following phrase: “If any of you know cause, or just impediment, why these two persons should not be joined together in holy Matrimony, ye are to declare it.”

What might such impediments be, and why is the marriage of “true minds” free from such impediments?

Bends

Look up the verb “bend” in the OED. OED

It’s got lots of meanings. Which ones might apply here?

Mark

This is OED 8a “An object which serves as an indication of direction or position.”

There are landmarks and seamarks. Given the reference to the ship (“bark”) in line 7, it’s likely that the poet means a seamark.

Why might these not be usually “ever fixed”?

His Height be Taken

The possessive pronoun “his” refers to the star. The speaker is referring to the process of navigation in which the angle of a star above the horizon can determine latitude (and thus location).

What would it take for a star’s altitude to be known and yet for the value of that observation (it’s “worth”) to remain unknown? And how does this metaphor work as a description of love?

Bending

What connection is there between this “bending” and the bending referred to in line 4?

Upon Me Proved

The use of the preposition “upon” with “prove” is found almost exclusively in legal language.

What other elements of this poem seem legalistic?

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Sonnet 116 in performance

Sonnet 116 in performance.

Let Me Not To

The overall rhythm of this sonnet is iambic -- unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables -- but this line an several others are full of irregularities. The accent on the first line has to fall on “Let” and “not,” making the line begin with two trochees.

What do you think the effect of this is?

Marriage of True

Two readings are possible here. Which do you prefer?

Regular Iambic

Irregular

Love is not Love

If this phrase were regular, the first “love” would be unstressed, but it has to be be stressed.

Why do you think the poet wanted this bit to be irregular?

Not Time's Fool

Which version do you prefer and why?

Standard Iambic

Irregular

Irregular

Even

If the line is to be regular, this word needs to pronounced as one syllable: “e’en.”

Is there a good reason not to do this?

Doom

Today this is a half-rhyme with “come” but in the 16th century the two were much closer together in pronunciation. The vowel would originally have been roughly halfway between the “uh” of modern “come” and the “oo” of modern “doom.”

Loved

“Loved” and “proved” rhymed more closely in the sixteenth century.