Sonnet 117 – Shakespeare

Shakespeare offers a careful apology: if his love seemed absent or altered, it was not betrayal but misdirected attention. He asks the beloved to accuse him openly—of neglect, of wavering, of letting affection drift—so that repentance can restore trust. The sonnet turns confession into loyalty, insisting that truth must be spoken in order for love to heal.

Sonnet 117 – Read and Listen

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Accuse me thus: that I have scanted all
Wherein I should your great deserts repay,
Forgot upon your dearest love to call,
Whereto all bonds do tie me day by day;

That I have frequent been with unknown minds,
And given to time your own dear-purchased right;
That I have hoisted sail to all the winds
Which should transport me farthest from your sight.

Book both my wilfulness and errors down,
And on just proof surmise accumulate;
Bring me within the level of your frown,
But shoot not at me in your waken’d hate:

Since my appeal says I did strive to prove
The constancy and virtue of your love.

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Introduction to Sonnet 117

Sonnet 117 is a formal confession shaped like a courtroom plea. Shakespeare invites the beloved to accuse him openly and specifically: neglect, absence, divided attention, wandering among “unknown minds.” The tone is strikingly direct, as though love has become a matter of testimony and judgement.

Rather than defending himself with excuses, the speaker makes an unusual choice. He lists the charges himself, offering them as if he were writing the indictment. This strategy has two effects. It shows humility, because he admits wrong without minimizing it. It also reveals control, because he frames the wrongdoing as error rather than betrayal.

The sonnet admits that time was given what belonged to the beloved: “your own dear-purchased right.” Love, like property, has been withheld. The image of hoisting sail “to all the winds” intensifies the sense of wandering, suggesting a reckless openness to any direction except the one that should lead home.

Still, Sonnet 117 aims at restoration. Shakespeare asks the beloved to “book” his wilfulness and errors, and even to bring him under the level of a frown, meaning within rightful displeasure. Yet he begs that anger not become hatred. Punishment is acceptable; hatred would destroy the bond.

The final couplet provides the sonnet’s justification. The poet claims that his appeal, his motive, was to “prove / The constancy and virtue of your love.” This is not a perfect defence, yet it reveals the emotional core: the speaker’s mistake was entangled with insecurity. He wanted proof of being loved. By admitting this, Shakespeare turns confession into a renewed request for trust.

Analysis — Sonnet 117

First Quatrain — Neglect of a Deserved Love

The sonnet begins with command: “Accuse me thus.” Shakespeare instructs the beloved in how to judge him. The first charge is failure of repayment: he has “scanted all” where he should have repaid the beloved’s “great deserts.” The beloved deserves devotion; the poet has given less.

Then comes a more intimate accusation: he forgot to call upon the beloved’s “dearest love,” the very love to which he is bound daily. The language of “bonds” suggests obligation and fidelity. The quatrain therefore frames neglect as breach of duty.

Second Quatrain — Wandering and the Winds of Distraction

The second quatrain adds social and temporal betrayal. The poet has been “frequent… with unknown minds,” implying new company, distraction, perhaps flirtation or shallow friendships. Time, which should have belonged to the beloved, is given away.

The sailing metaphor is central. Shakespeare has hoisted sail “to all the winds” that would transport him farthest from the beloved’s sight. Instead of being guided by love as star (Sonnet 116), he let himself be carried by random winds.

This quatrain makes the wrongdoing appear not accidental but wilful—an openness to drifting away.

Third Quatrain — Recording Proof, Accepting Judgment, Rejecting Hatred

The third quatrain continues the legal language. The beloved should “book” the poet’s errors, like a clerk recording facts. Proof may accumulate. Surmise may be added. The poet grants the beloved the right to build a case.

He even accepts punishment: “Bring me within the level of your frown.” A frown becomes a measured form of judgement—cold, serious, deserved. Yet Shakespeare sets a limit: “shoot not at me in your waken’d hate.” Hate is pictured as an arrow. Once released, it cannot be recalled.

Thus the poem seeks discipline, not destruction. Correction should restore the relationship, not end it.

Final Couplet — The Motive: Proving Love’s Constancy

The couplet makes the speaker’s final plea. He claims he acted to prove the beloved’s constancy and virtue. In other words, insecurity pushed him into tests.

This logic is morally uneasy, yet psychologically true. The poet confesses that he doubted and therefore tempted distance, hoping to be drawn back by the beloved’s devotion.

The couplet therefore transforms the sonnet into a request: punish the error, but recognize the underlying desire—to be assured of being truly loved.

Conclusion

Sonnet 117 is Shakespeare’s disciplined apology. It does not deny wrongdoing; it names it. Neglect, wandering, and divided attention are admitted openly, as if love requires a trial before it can be healed.

The poem’s power lies in its balance. Shakespeare accepts just displeasure and invites judgement, yet he pleads against hatred, which would end rather than correct. The legal metaphors reveal a deep need for fairness: love must be tested honestly, not destroyed emotionally.

In the end, the sonnet argues that confession can be a form of loyalty. By speaking the accusations himself, Shakespeare shows willingness to return to truth. Repentance becomes the bridge back to trust, and love regains its future by facing its past without disguise.

Sonetto 117 – In Italiano ·
◀ Sonnet 116 · Sonnet 118 ▶

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