Sonnet 135
Encyclopedia
In Shakespeare's Sonnet
135, the speaker appeals to his mistress after having been rejected by her.
of the sonnet, the speaker pledges himself to the mistress, while he humbly refers to himself as "I that vex thee." It can be roughly paraphrased as: You have me, and me, and me again.
The second quatrain can be paraphrased thus: Since your will is large and spacious, won't you let me hide my will in yours? Especially since you are graciously accepting others, but not myself?
In the third quatrain, he likens the mistress to an ocean, which would be able to comfortably accommodate an additional quantity of water. Thus, he implicitly gives up the right to an exclusive relationship with the mistress.
There is some debate over the meaning of the final couplet
; in her book The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets, Helen Vendler
supported the interpretation by G. B. Evans (Shakespeare's Sonnets, 1996) as
"Let no unkind [persons] kill no fair beseechers."
Counting the contraction wilt as instance of the word will, this sonnet uses the word will a total of fourteen times. The word is also a pun
on the name of the author, and as such, is also used in Sonnet 134
and Sonnet 136.
Since "will" is a colloquial term for both the male and female genitalia, the poem can also be understood sexually in any number of ways.
In the 1609 Quarto edition of Sonnets, all capitalized instances of the word Will appear in italics.
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
135, the speaker appeals to his mistress after having been rejected by her.
Synopsis
In the first quatrainQuatrain
A quatrain is a stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines of verse. Existing in various forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, and China; and, continues into the 21st century, where it is...
of the sonnet, the speaker pledges himself to the mistress, while he humbly refers to himself as "I that vex thee." It can be roughly paraphrased as: You have me, and me, and me again.
The second quatrain can be paraphrased thus: Since your will is large and spacious, won't you let me hide my will in yours? Especially since you are graciously accepting others, but not myself?
In the third quatrain, he likens the mistress to an ocean, which would be able to comfortably accommodate an additional quantity of water. Thus, he implicitly gives up the right to an exclusive relationship with the mistress.
There is some debate over the meaning of the final couplet
Couplet
A couplet is a pair of lines of meter in poetry. It usually consists of two lines that rhyme and have the same meter.While traditionally couplets rhyme, not all do. A poem may use white space to mark out couplets if they do not rhyme. Couplets with a meter of iambic pentameter are called heroic...
; in her book The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets, Helen Vendler
Helen Vendler
Helen Hennessy Vendler is a leading American critic of poetry.-Life and career:Vendler has written books on Emily Dickinson, W. B. Yeats, Wallace Stevens, John Keats, and Seamus Heaney. She has been a professor of English at Harvard University since 1984; between 1981 and 1984 she taught...
supported the interpretation by G. B. Evans (Shakespeare's Sonnets, 1996) as
"Let no unkind [persons] kill no fair beseechers."
Counting the contraction wilt as instance of the word will, this sonnet uses the word will a total of fourteen times. The word is also a pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
on the name of the author, and as such, is also used in Sonnet 134
Sonnet 134
In Shakespeare's 134th sonnet, the speaker confronts the mistress after learning that she has seduced the Fair Youth.-Synopsis:In the first quatrain, the speaker confesses that both he and the friend are at the mistress's mercy; in the second one, he surmises that the attachment will hold, due to...
and Sonnet 136.
Since "will" is a colloquial term for both the male and female genitalia, the poem can also be understood sexually in any number of ways.
In the 1609 Quarto edition of Sonnets, all capitalized instances of the word Will appear in italics.