What is Shakespearean
Sonnet?
Sonnet
138 is one of the most famous of William Shakespeare's sonnets. Making
use of frequent puns ("lie" and "lie" being the most
obvious), it shows an understanding of the nature of truth and flattery in
romantic relationships. The poem has also been argued to be biographical: many
scholars have suggested Shakespeare used the poem to discuss his frustrating
relationship with the Dark Lady, a frequent subject of many of the
sonnets. (To note, the Dark Lady was definitely not Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway.) The poem emphasizes the
effects of age and the associated deterioration of beauty, and its effect on a
sexual or romantic relationship.
What is Shakespearean Sonnet?
Shakespeare's
sonnets is the title of a
collection of 154 sonnets
by William Shakespeare, which covers themes such
as the passage of time, love, beauty and mortality. The first 126 sonnets are
addressed to a young man; the last 28 to a woman.
1 – 126 sonnets are addressed to Fair Youth
127-154 no sonnets are addressed to Dark Lady
first 17
poems, traditionally called the procreation sonnets
The final
two sonnets are allegorical treatments of Greek epigrams
referring to the "little love-god" Cupid.
Structure—
The sonnets are
almost all constructed from three quatrains,
which are four-line stanzas, and a final couplet composed
in iambic pentameter.[21]
This is also the meter used extensively in Shakespeare's plays.
The rhyme scheme is abab
cdcd efef gg
Sonnets using this scheme are known as Shakespearean
sonnets.
Often, either the beginning of the third quatrain or
of the last couplet mark the volta ("turn"), or the line in which the
mood of the poem shifts, and the poet expresses a revelation
When my love
swears that she is made of truth,
I do believe her though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutored youth,
Unlearned in the world’s false subtleties.
I do believe her though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutored youth,
Unlearned in the world’s false subtleties.
Thus vainly
thinking that she thinks me young,
Although she knows my days are past the best,
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue,
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed:
Although she knows my days are past the best,
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue,
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed:
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 years told.
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 years told.
Therefore I lie
with her, and she with me,
And in our faults by lies we flattered be.
And in our faults by lies we flattered be.
EXPLANATION LINE BY LINE
When my love
swears that she is made of truth
|
When my
mistress swears that she is faithful
|
I do believe
her, though I know she lies,
|
I do believe
her, though I know she lies,
|
That she
might think me some untutor'd youth,
|
So that she
might think I am some inexperienced youth,
|
Unlearned in
the world's false subtleties.
|
Ignorant of
all the deceit that exists in the world.
|
Thus vainly
thinking that she thinks me young,
|
Thus
foolishly thinking that I am still young,
|
Although she
knows my days are past the best,
|
Although she
knows that my best days are behind me,
|
Simply I
credit her false speaking tongue:
|
Foolishly I
give credit to the untruths she tells about me;
|
On both sides
thus is simple truth suppress'd.
|
So that both
of us are supressing the ugly truth.
|
But wherefore
says she not she is unjust?
|
But why does
she not tell me that she is unfaithful?
|
And wherefore
say not I that I am old?
|
And why do I
not admit that I am old?
|
O, love's
best habit is in seeming trust,
|
O, love's
best disguise is the pretence of truth,
|
And age in
love loves not to have years told:
|
And older
lovers do not like to have their age pointed out:
|
Therefore I
lie with her and she with me,
|
That is why I
lie to her and she to me,
|
And in our
faults by lies we flatter'd be.
|
And the lies
we tell each other help us forget our respective faults.
|
Rhyming Scheme-- abab cdcd efef gg
• When my love swears that she is made of truth a
I do believe her though I know she lies, b
That she might think me some untutored youth, a
Unlearned in the world’s false subtleties. b
I do believe her though I know she lies, b
That she might think me some untutored youth, a
Unlearned in the world’s false subtleties. b
• Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, c
Although she knows my days are past the best, d
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue, c
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed d
Although she knows my days are past the best, d
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue, c
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed d
• But wherefore says she not she is unjust? e
And wherefore say not I that I am old? f
O love’s best habit is in seeming trust, e
And age in love, loves not to have years told. f
And wherefore say not I that I am old? f
O love’s best habit is in seeming trust, e
And age in love, loves not to have years told. f
• Therefore I lie with her, and she with me, g
And in our faults by lies we flattered be. g
And in our faults by lies we flattered be. g
For Exam--
• Try to remember and recognize lines of the poem.
• Year when it published– 1609
• Who were addressed in poem– The Dark Lady
• Figure of speech used in poem- pun
From Author---
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