sonnets-121-140

«Be wise as thou art cruel; do not press My tongue-tied patience with too much disdain».   Sinking quickly into despair over the sad state of his […]

«O, call not me to justify the wrong That thy unkindness lays upon my heart».  Regressing to his former melodramatic verse, the poet begs the woman […]

«When my love swears that she is made of truth I do believe her, though I know she lies».  Sonnet 138 presents a candid psychological study […]

«Thou blind fool, Love, what dost thou to mine eyes, That they behold, and see not what they see?».  The dichotomy between the impulses of the […]

«If thy soul cheque thee that I come so near, Swear to thy blind soul that I was thy ‘Will,’».  Sonnet 136 continues to play on […]

«Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy ‘Will,’ And ‘Will’ to boot, and ‘Will’ in overplus».  The punning on the word “will” continues from the previous […]

«So, now I have confess’d that he is thine, And I myself am mortgaged to thy will».  The story of the poet’s friend’s seduction unfolds in […]

«Beshrew that heart that makes my heart to groan For that deep wound it gives my friend and me!».  Whereas Sonnet 132 makes the mistress into […]

«Thine eyes I love, and they, as pitying me, Knowing thy heart torments me with disdain».  Sonnet 132 represents an intensification of the poet’s feelings for […]

«Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art, As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel».  The poet further discusses his mistress’s unattractive appearance. The first […]

«My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips’ red».  Sonnet 130 is a parody of the Dark Lady, […]

«The expense of spirit in a waste of shame Is lust in action; and till action, lust».  The mistress is not mentioned in this sonnet. Instead, […]