Sonnet 148

Aggiornato

Shakespeare. Sonnet 1

«O me, what eyes hath Love put in my head,
Which have no correspondence with true sight!».  

In Sonnet 148, a companion to the previous sonnet, the poet admits that his judgment is blind when it comes to love. Again his eyes are false and misperceive reality, and reason has fled him: “O me, what eyes hath Love put in my head, / Which have no correspondence with true sight.”

Sonnet 148
Read and listen

O me, what eyes hath Love put in my head,
Which have no correspondence with true sight!
Or, if they have, where is my judgment fled,
That censures falsely what they see aright?
If that be fair whereon my false eyes dote,
What means the world to say it is not so?
If it be not, then love doth well denote
Love’s eye is not so true as all men’s ‘No.’
How can it? O, how can Love’s eye be true,
That is so vex’d with watching and with tears?
No marvel then, though I mistake my view;
The sun itself sees not till heaven clears.
O cunning Love! with tears thou keep’st me blind,
Lest eyes well-seeing thy foul faults should find.

»»» Sonnets introduction
»»» Sonnets complete list

Acknowledging the possibility that love metaphorically blinds his judgment, he then attempts to rationalize his predicament. How does the world know that what he sees is false and that what the world considers false is not really true? Although the poet admits his failings, nonetheless he cannot surmount his unhealthy dependency on the woman and his driving passion to rekindle their sexual relationship.

««« Sonnet 147
»»» Sonnet 149

Credits

English audio from YouTube Channel Socratica

Summary from Cliffsnotes.com

»»» Sonnets introduction
»»» Sonnets complete list

PirandelloWeb