Summary The next sonnet series on absence begins here with Sonnet 43 and continues through Sonnet 58. Throughout this new sequence, different meanings of the same words are developed in versatile constructions and juxtapositions. Note the curious double use of “shadow” and “form” in “Then thou, whose shadow shadows doth […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 43Summary and Analysis Sonnet 42
Summary Only in this last sonnet concerning the youth and the poet’s mistress does the poet make fully apparent the main reason for his being so upset: “That she hath thee is of my wailing chief, / A loss in love that touches me more nearly.” The poet is grieved […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 42Summary and Analysis Sonnet 41
Summary In order to forgive the youth for his actions, the poet places himself in both the youth’s position and that of the mistress. In the sonnet’s first four lines, the poet mildly accuses the young man of committing small sins, but he then goes on to accept the youth’s […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 41Summary and Analysis Sonnet 40
Summary Sonnet 40 begins a three-sonnet sequence in which the poet shares his possessions and his mistress with the youth, although it is not until Sonnet 41 that he directly mentions their liaison. The use of the word “love” may be confusing to readers, for “love” in this sonnet means […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 40Summary and Analysis Sonnet 39
Summary Sonnet 39 constructs an ingenious variation on the theme of ab-sence. Ironically, separation is inspirational: “That by this separation I may give / That due to thee which thou deserv’st alone.” Also, as the youth is the “better part” of the poet, the two remain united through the poet’s […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 39Summary and Analysis Sonnet 38
Summary Like the previous sonnet, Sonnet 38 contrasts the selfishly lascivious youth and the adoring, idealistic poet. The poet appears pitifully unable to contemplate his life without the youth, who remains physically distanced from the poet. The poet’s emotional reliance on the young man dominates the sonnet. For example, the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 38Summary and Analysis Sonnet 37
Summary Sonnet 37, which echoes Sonnet 36, conveys the emotions of a doting parent and discontinues the confessional mode of the previous sonnets. “As a decrepit father takes delight / To see his active child do deeds of youth,” the poet takes comfort in the youth’s superlative qualities, and wishes […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 37Summary and Analysis Sonnet 36
Summary Obstacles to the friendship between the poet and the young man remain, but the poet is no longer wholly duped by his young friend. However, he still maintains that their love for one another is as strong as ever: “Let me confess that we two must be twain / […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 36Summary and Analysis Sonnet 35
Summary Whereas in Sonnet 33 the poet is an onlooker, in the previous sonnet and here in Sonnet 35, the poet recognizes his own contribution to the youth’s wrongdoing in the excuses that he has made for the youth over time. Sonnet 35 begins with parallel objects that, although beautiful, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 35Summary and Analysis Sonnet 34
Summary The poet speaks of a quite different feeling than he did in Sonnet 33. He is puzzled and painfully disappointed by the youth, whose callousness dashes any hope of his enjoying a dependable friendship. The opening complaint, again based on the metaphor of the young man as the sun, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 34