Sonnet 142 – Shakespeare

Shakespeare answers the Dark Lady’s moral accusations by exposing their hypocrisy: she condemns his love as sinful, yet her own desire is equally guilty. The sonnet becomes a courtroom debate, where both lover and beloved stand accused. In the end Shakespeare insists that judgement is corrupted by self-interest, and that those who sin most loudly often condemn others most harshly.

Sonnet 142 – Read and Listen

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Love is my sin and thy dear virtue hate,
Hate of my sin, grounded on sinful loving:
O! but with mine compare thou thine own state,
And thou shalt find it merits not reproving;

Or, if it do, not from those lips of thine,
That have profaned their scarlet ornaments
And sealed false bonds of love as oft as mine,
Robbed others’ beds’ revenues of their rents.

Be it lawful I love thee, as thou lov’st those
Whom thine eyes woo as mine importune thee:
Root pity in thy heart, that, when it grows,
Thy pity may deserve to pitied be.

If thou dost seek to have what thou dost hide,
By self-example mayst thou be denied!

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Introduction to Sonnet 142

Sonnet 142 is Shakespeare’s fierce reply to moral condemnation within the Dark Lady sequence. The speaker admits that love is his “sin,” yet he rejects the mistress’ right to judge him. Her “virtue” is not true virtue at all; it is hatred disguised as morality. She condemns his desire while practising the same kind of sinful loving herself.

The sonnet is shaped like a courtroom argument. Shakespeare begins by naming the accusation—his love is a sin—and then turns the charge back upon the accuser. If she compares her own state to his, she will find that she does not deserve to reproach him. This is not a claim of innocence; it is a claim of shared guilt. Both stand compromised.

The second quatrain becomes sharper and more personal. Shakespeare attacks her “lips,” which have profaned their scarlet ornaments—an image of beauty stained by misuse. She has sealed false bonds of love as often as he has. Even more damning, she has robbed others’ beds, stealing what belongs to other relationships. The language is economic and legal: bonds, rents, revenues. Lust becomes theft.

In the third quatrain the poet asks for fairness. Let it be lawful that he loves her, as she loves those whom her eyes pursue. He calls for pity rooted in her heart, so that her pity might one day deserve pity in return. The final couplet warns her against hypocrisy: if she seeks what she hides, she may be denied by her own example. Sonnet 142 is therefore a harsh demand for consistency—an insistence that the sinner must not pretend to be judge.

Analysis — Sonnet 142

First Quatrain — Sin and Hypocrisy

The first quatrain opens with a confession: love is the speaker’s sin. Yet the mistress’ hatred of this sin is founded on “sinful loving.” Her judgement is therefore corrupt from the start.

Shakespeare urges her to compare her own state with his. If she does, she will find her position does not merit reproving. This quatrain establishes the poem’s key weapon: moral reversal. The accuser is accused.

Second Quatrain — Profaned Lips and False Bonds

The second quatrain attacks her authority to condemn him. Even if his love is blameworthy, it should not be blamed by her lips—lips that have been profaned.

The image of “scarlet ornaments” suggests beauty made sinful by use. Shakespeare insists she has sealed false bonds of love as often as he has, and she has robbed other beds’ revenues. The metaphor presents desire as theft and betrayal, not romance.

This quatrain intensifies the sonnet’s tone: it is not pleading but prosecution.

Third Quatrain — A Plea for Equal Law and Pity

The third quatrain shifts from accusation to demand. If she loves others whom her eyes woo, then his love should be lawful too. Shakespeare does not ask for purity; he asks for equal standards.

He then introduces a moral appeal: root pity in your heart. If pity grows within her, it may later deserve pity itself. The logic is almost karmic: mercy given becomes mercy received.

Final Couplet — Denied by Self-Example

The couplet delivers warning. If she seeks to have what she hides—if she demands love while denying love—she may be denied by her own example.

This ending condemns hypocrisy as self-defeating. It suggests that moral judgement boomerangs: the standards she applies will return to judge her.

Conclusion

Sonnet 142 is Shakespeare’s angry defence against moral blame. He admits his love is sinful, yet he refuses to accept judgement from a woman whose own desire is equally corrupt. The sonnet becomes a debate over hypocrisy: shared guilt destroys the right to condemn.

Shakespeare sharpens his accusation through legal and economic imagery—false bonds, profaned lips, stolen rents—showing lust as betrayal and theft. He then demands equal law: let his love be lawful as hers is, and let pity take root so that pity might one day be deserved.

The final couplet warns that hidden appetite and public condemnation cannot coexist. Those who seek what they hide may be denied by their own example. Sonnet 142 is not romantic confession, but moral confrontation—love turned into prosecution.

Sonetto 142 – In Italiano ·
◀ Sonnet 141 · Sonnet 143 ▶

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