Sonnet 138 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 138 by William Shakespeare

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,

Unlearnèd 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.

But wherefore says she not she is unjust?

And wherefore say not I that I am old?

Oh, 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.

INTRODUCTION -

'Sonnet 138' is one of the most famous love sonnets by the renowned Elizabethan playwright and poet, William Shakespeare. It is also known by its first line "When my love swears that she is made of truth." The poem is said to be written in the early 1590s but it was published in 1599 in a Shakespearean poem collection, The Passionate Pilgrim. However, it was later republished in the 1609 edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets. The poem is an Elizabethan sonnet which means that the fourteen lines can be divided into three quatrains and a couplet. The poem is written in iambic pentameter and follows the rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG. The poem describes the love of two lovers who ignore each other’s shortcomings and flaws to continue their relationship. It further shows how they deceive each other to enjoy the bliss of artificial love.

POET -

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 - 23 April 1616) was an Elizabethan poet, dramatist, and essayist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon." He is considered the greatest figure in English literature. During his lifetime, he wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets. Even after five centuries, his works still possess their importance and popularity. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. His famous dramas include Hamlet, Macbeth, The Tempest, etc.

SUMMARY -

LINES 1 TO 4 -

The poet says that when his lover swears that she is truthful and loyal to him, he believes her even though he knows that she is lying. He does that to make her believe that he is a naïve, young man, inexperienced in the ways of the world who cannot see through her lies. Hence, in the very beginning, we can understand that the poet has a fake love relationship with his beloved which is completely based on lies and conceits. Hence, there is no true love between them.

LINES 5 TO 8 -

Next, the poet says that by doing so he pretends to believe that she still considers him as a young man, even though they both know that the poet has lived many years i.e. he has aged. In this way, the poet believes her falsity and lies. But by doing so neither side is truthful. The lover speaks lies about her true love and poet's youth while the poet accepts her lies to fulfill his heart's desires of youth. Hence, this relationship consists of lies and dreams, not truth and love.

LINES 9 TO 12 -

But in the next lines, the poet raises some questions. He questions why his lover lies about things. Why he doesn't accept that he has turned old? The answer is simple - the best habit about love is to pretend to trust each other. Similarly, old people don’t like to have their age revealed to their lovers. Hence, the poet doesn't argue with his beloved and accepts all her lies easily. These lies though look as they are making this relationship strong, but instead, the relationship is getting hollow.

LINES 13 TO 14 -

Hence, the poet lies to his lover and she lies to him. Though these lies reveal their faults, it makes them feel better and so, they continue to speak falsely. Since they both do not want to accept the pinching realities and each other’s faults, they find comfort in lying just to stay together and surpass simple truths for the sake of love.

THEME -

• Love, flattery, and lust - This poem is about two lovers whose illicit love affair is glazed with lust and sweet lies. The speaker is an old and experienced man, while her lady thinks that he is an innocent young guy who has not perceived the deceit of the world. The speaker knows that she is flattering him. However, he never tries to let her down. Thus, instead of acknowledging each other’s flaws, they flatter each other by lying about their faults.

END -

The poem dives into a difficult, complex relationship. Both the speaker and the woman he loves lie to each other constantly. The two lovers end up in an obscure situation: they take comfort—at least, they try to take comfort—in each other's lies, instead of the love they feel for each other. The poem is one of the Dark Lady sonnets where Shakespeare has tried to bring out the deceptions of a female lover.