1140 frets ridges on stringed instruments to regulate fingering (plays on sense of "torments") 1142 for because
1143 As shaming as if ashamed that
1144 desert deserted place, wild, uninhabited region seated ... way situated away from road or path
1147 stern cruel, merciless
kinds natures
1149 at gaze bewildered
1151 encompassed surrounded
1155 death reproach's debtor suicide will incur reproach 1157 But ... pollution to add the pollution of my soul (through suicide) to the pollution of my raped body 1159 confusion ruin, destruction
1160 tries tests
1164 the ... divine the purity of my body made my soul divine/my body was pure, my soul divine 1165 Whose ... nearer which did I love more
1170 sacked plundered, ravaged
1173 Grossly engirt flagrantly surrounded
1175 blemished fort damaged stronghold, i.e. her body 1182 spent shed/paid out (as a legacy)
1183 testament last will and testament
1186 deprive take away
1188 fame honor
1191 dear jewel chastity
1193 resolution determination, unwavering purpose 1195 used treated
1199 to i.e. I bequeath respectively to
1202 confound overthrow, destroy
1203 disbursed paid out, given away
1205 oversee be legal executor of
1206 overseen deceived
1213 brinish pearl i.e. salty tear
1214 untuned harsh-sounding, discordant
1215 hies hastens
1216 thought's feathers i.e. as swiftly as thought 1218 meads meadows
1221 sorts adapts, suits
1222 For why because
1223 audaciously impudently, presumptuously
1228 gan began to
1229 circled eyne rounded eyes
enforced compelled
1234 Like ... cisterns the women resemble fountains in which ivory spouts fill a central reservoir (i.e. their eyes, red from weeping) 1235 justly with reason
1236 company fellowship, sympathy
1238 to ... smarts merely at guessing the cause of another's pain 1241 will wishes
1242 strange kinds other natures
1243 skill cunning
1246 semblance image, appearance
1247 champaign open, level
1248 Lays open reveals
1250 Cave-keeping i.e. that remain hidden
obscurely in darkness, concealed
1251 mote speck/ blemish
1254 inveigh against reproach, denounce
1255 chide scold
1257 hild held
1260 tenants to their inhabitants, sharers in men's 1261 precedent example, pattern
1262 Assailed attacked (sexually)
strong ... death strongly suggesting her imminent death
1264 By that on account of
1266 dying fear paralyzing fear/fear of death
1269 counterfeit imitation, i.e. the maid
1272 of my sustaining sustained by me
1273 small avails little helps
1275 stayed paused
1278 sluggard lazy, sluggish
1279 dispense excuse
1283 heaviness (cause of) sorrow
1298 Conceit thought/mode of expression
1299 wit thought, intellect
blotted straight immediately crossed out
will emotion
1300 curious good overelaborate
blunt and ill crude and badly phrased
1302 inventions ideas, attempts to write
which ... before competing over who shall go first
1305 vouchsafe t'afford graciously consent to grant 1308 commend me entrust myself to you (conventional form of greeting) 1309 tedious long and troublesome
1310 tenor general drift/legal transcript
1312 schedule note, outline
1314 thereof make discovery reveal it fully
1316 Ere ... excuse i.e. before she had a chance to excuse her shame through suicide 1317 passion suffering
1323 action accompanying oratorical gestures
become suit, adorn
1326 heavy motion serious emotion/sad action (motion plays on sense of "entertainment, puppet show") 1327 part ... bear body part bears a portion of woe (a part plays on sense of "a theatrical role") 1329 sounds straits/inlets/noises
1330 being ... words i.e. diminishes through verbal expression 1333 post messenger
1334 Charging ordering
1335 lagging loitering, tardy
1336 Speed ... deems the greatest speed nevertheless seems dull and slow to her 1338 homely villain simple lowborn fellow
curtsies bows
1340 or yea either a yes
1345 silly simple
wot knows
defect absence, deficiency
1350 pattern ... age example from bygone times
1351 Pawned pledged
to gage as a guarantee
1352 His kindled his blushing
1355 wistly intently
1356 amazed confused/alarmed
1359 long she thinks it seems to her a long time
1361 entertain occupy, fill up
1362 stale wearisome
1364 plaints lamentations
stay pause
1367 Priam's Troy Priam was the King of Troy, and the painting depicts a scene from the Trojan war in which the Greek army is besieging the city; the cause of the war was Paris' abduction of Helen, the wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta 1368 drawn assembled/depicted
power army
1369 rape abduction/sexual violation
1370 Ilion Troy, renowned for its tall towers
annoy trouble, damage
proud arrogant/splendid/high
1374 scorn contempt, defiance
lifeless life apparent life to inanimate things
1377 reeked smoked
strife effort/contest with nature/engagement in the battle scene 1380 pioneer footsoldier who dug trenches and cleared the terrain 1383 loopholes narrow vertical openings in walls from which arrows were fired 1384 lust friendly inclination
1385 sweet observance delightful attention to detail, pleasing care 1389 quick lively/vivid, lifelike
1390 interlaces mingles, inserts
1394 Ajax and Ulysses two of the Greek generals; Ajax was known for his strength and Ulysses for his ingenuity and cunning 1395 physiognomy the facial features as indicators of character 1396 ciphered expressed, delineated
either's his own
1398 blunt dull, insensitive
rigour harshness
1399 sly skillful/crafty
1400 regard observant attention
government leadership/self-control
1401 pleading i.e. being a persuasive orator grave dignified
Nestor Greek elder statesman renowned for wisdom
1403 action oratorical gesture
1404 beguiled diverted, charmed
1407 purled curled (puns on "pearled," suggesting a luminous appearance) 1410 several graces distinct postures/different features 1412 nice subtle/skillful/precise
1414 mock the mind deceive the mind of the viewer 1417 thronged crowded
bears presses, turns
boll'n swollen, puffed up
1418 pelt express anger/hurl abuse
1420 but ... of were it not for fear of missing
1423 Conceit deceitful skillful artifice
compact well-composed
kind natural, lifelike
1424 for ... spear Achilles, the foremost Greek warrior, is represented by his famous spear 1430 Hector eldest son of Priam and Hecuba, foremost of the Trojan warriors 1433 such ... yield display such unusual gestures odd unusual/at odds (with joy)
1436 strand of Dardan Trojan shore
1437 Simois river just outside Troy
1439 ridges crests
1440 galled war torn/eroded
then the rhyme is stronger with the ori
ginal spelling, "than"
1444 stelled delineated, portrayed
1445 some to a certain extent
1446 dolour sorrow
1447 Hecuba wife of Priam, who was killed by Achilles' son Pyrrhus
1450 anatomized minutely analyzed, dissected
1452 chaps deep lines, cracks
1453 was had been
1454 blue i.e. noble
black perhaps also suggestive of melancholy, supposedly caused by an excess of black bile 1455 spring source of water/youth
pipes veins
1457 shadow image (but also suggesting Hecuba is a shadow of her former self) spends employs (perhaps also suggestive of weeping)
1458 beldame old woman
1459 wants ... her lacks in order to match Lucrece in sorrow 1460 ban curse
1461 The ... those i.e. the painter didn't have immortal powers with which to give his painted figures the ability to speak 1471 strumpet whore, i.e. Helen (of Troy) whose abduction by Paris caused the war 1473 fond foolish/infatuated/lustful
1477 dame wife/mother
1479 moe more
1480 light alight, descend
1484 plague ... general punish everyone for one person's offense 1486 Troilus another Trojan warrior, son of Priam and Hecuba and brother to Hector swoons faints (the rhyme is stronger with the original spelling, "sounds") 1487 bloody channel stream of blood/gutter running with blood 1488 unadvised rash, unintended
1490 doting foolish, indulgent
checked curbed, restrained
1494 goes continues
1495 knell tolling of a bell to mark a person's death 1496 set a-work once she starts
1497 pencilled ... sorrow i.e. to the images in the picture 1501 a ... bound the image of a miserable prisoner (Sinon, who deceived the Trojans into believing he had deserted the Greeks and convinced them to allow the wooden horse into Troy; it contained Greek soldiers and heralded Troy's downfall) 1502 piteous ... lent made the Trojan shepherds look on him with pity 1504 blunt swains rough, unpolished rustics
1507 harmless show i.e. the painting
1508 wailing still continually expressing grief/ constantly weeping 1509 unbent not furrowed or cast down
1511 guilty instance suggestion of guilt
1514 entertained a show maintained an appearance
1515 ensconced concealed
1520 workman expert craftsman
1521 enchanting spell-like, bewitching
1523 wildfire a combination of highly flammable substances used in warfare 1526 glass mirror (i.e. Troy)
1527 advisedly thoughtfully, attentively
1529 some ... abused some innocent person had been wrongfully depicted as Sinon 1532 plain open, unwrinkled/honest
1533 belied false
1539 turned it changed the meaning
1540 But but that
1543 travail labor
1544 beguild beguile, deceive
1546 him i.e. Sinon
1551 falls lets fall
1554 balls ... fire i.e. wildfire
1555 effects appearances
1564 senseless inanimate/unfeeling
1565 unhappy misfortune-bringing
1567 gives o'er desists
1573 in ... sustaining when sorrow has to be endured 1574 heavy sorrowful/sleepy
1575 watch remain awake
1576 overslipped slipped unnoticed past
1578 from away from
1579 detriment grief, loss
1580 shows images
1583 mindful dutiful
1586 tear-distained tearstained
1587 streamed streamed out, were luminously visible 1588 water-galls secondary, imperfectly formed rainbows or other signs portending rain dim element overcast sky, i.e. face
1592 sod sodden, soaked
1596 each other's chance what had befallen the other 1598 uncouth unknown/strange
1601 attired in discontent wrapped in grief/dressed in mourning black 1604 sighs ... fire i.e. as if blowing a smoldering wick prior to lighting and discharging artillery 1606 addressed prepared
1609 consorted accompanying/ associated, leagued
1612 dirge funeral song
1611 swan ... ending swans were believed to sing before they died 1615 depending waiting for settlement (legal term)/hanging heavily 1619 in ... of claiming, usurping
1621 wont accustomed
1626 falchion curved sword
1629 entertain receive (sexually)
1632 hard-favoured groom ugly manservant
1633 yoke thy liking submit yourself/unite your desire 1643 still ... record be forever recorded in writing 1645 Th'adulterate the adulterous
1648 bloody cruel, bloodthirsty
1650 scarlet the color both of lust and of a judge's robes evidence to swear to present sworn testimony
1651 purloined stolen
1655 gross bodily (as opposed to spiritual)/corrupted 1658 accessary yieldings compliance
1659 closet private room or cabinet, i.e. body 1660 merchant i.e. Collatine
1661 declined lowered, drooping
1662 across folded, a conventional gesture of melancholy 1663 new-waxen newly grown
1666 What ... again i.e. he tries to speak but his breath catches and he swallows his words 1669 eddy water that has had its course interrupted and runs contrary to the current boundeth in restrains
1670 strait narrow channel of water
1672 make a saw works with a sawing motion, backward and forward 1674 attendeth observes
1675 untimely frenzy ill-timed madness
1677 Another power added strength
1678 sensible capable of feeling, painful
1680 on in
1682 attend pay attention to
1683 suddenly immediately
1684 Thine ... own i.e. his actions have made Tarquin enemy to Collatine, Lucrece, and himself 1690 plight ... faiths take an oath on your honors 1691 venge avenge
1697 imposition the task she imposed
1698 bewrayed exposed, accused
1699 said completed
1700 protestation declarations, avowals
1702 quality nature
1704 with ... dispense be exonerated from the sinful deed 1705 advance raise up
1706 terms arguments
chance misfortune
1714 no ... giving no woman who comes after will be able to cite my being excused as reason for her to be excused 1720 Untimely ill-timed, irregular
assays attempts (to speak)
1725 bail liberate, release
1726 prison i.e. her body
1728 sprite spirit, soul
1729 Life's ... destiny eternal life, which escapes the mortal life she has ended 1731 crew companions
1734 Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus, who went on to lead the overthrow of Tarquin's father Tarquinius Superbus, an event that marked the end of Roman kingship and the establishment of the republic 1736 held ... chase followed, came after it
1740 late-sacked recently plundered
vastly desolate, empty
1745 wat'ry rigol ring or circle of watery fluid (the blood-serum that separates from clotting blood) 1751 Lucretius Lucrece's father
1756 predecease progenitors die before their parents 1758 glass mirror, in which her father saw himself young again 1763 shivered shattered
1766 surcease cease
1773 place precedence
1774 key-cold i.e. cold as metal
1776 counterfeits appears, seems
1779 vexation distress, torment
1784 so thick come coming in such a rush or so incomprehensibly 1790 At ... o'er i.e. sighs and speech finally give way to tears 1791 strife pain, distress/contention
1797 interest entitlement/share
1803 owed owned
1805 dispersed a transferred epithet; it is the clamors that are scattered through the air 1807 Brutus Lucius Junius Brutus had pretended to be an idiot (Latin brutus) in order to escape the fate of his brother who had been murdered by Tarquin's father
1808 emulation rivalry
1809 wit intellect
1810 folly's show pretense of stupidity
1814 habit guise/accustomed manner
1815 deep policy farseeing strategy
1819 unsounded untested/not uttered
1825 humour mood, behavior
1826 wretched unhappy
1828 steep drench
1829 relenting softening, weakening
1831 invocations prayers for aid
1832 suffer allow
1835 Capitol hill in Rome, site of the great temple of Jupiter 1837 fat fertile
1844 protestation declared resolution
1845 wond'ring marveling
allow approve, accept
1849 advised doom considered judgment
1851 thorough throughout
1854 plausibly approvingly
1371 conceited ingenious (plays on sense of proud) ARGUMENT summary, plot outline
20 a sonnet in which each line has a feminine ending (i.e. an extra, unstressed syllable) 89 the argument continues from Sonnet 88
99 the only poem in the collection with fifteen lines
138 a version of this sonnet appears in The Passionate Pilgrim (1598/99) 144 a version of this sonnet also appears in The Passionate Pilgrim (1598/99) 145 the only poem in the collection to have lines of only eight syllables BEGETTER creator, father, author; could possibly mean "inspirer"
MR. W. H. often assumed to be the young man addressed in Sonnets 1-126, he has been variously identified--the most likely candidates are Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton (to whom Venus and Adonis and Lucrece were dedicated), and William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke (to whom the First Folio was dedicated); however, MR. does not suggest an aristocrat, so it is possible that W. H. is a misprint for "W. S.," and that this is the publisher's dedication to the author ETERNITY immortality
OUR EVER-LIVING POET Shakespeare (if a certain W. H. is the dedicatee)/God, via a pun on poet as "maker" (if "W. H." should actually read "W. S.") ADVENTURER one who undertakes a commercial venture (i.e. the publisher) T. T. Thomas Thorpe, the publisher of the sonnets
1 increase reproduction/offspring
2 That so that
4 tender young/loving
bear his memory be a reminder of him
5 thou in ordinary speech, "thou" was generally more intimate than "you" (like tu in French), but it was also the conventional pronoun for poetic address contracted betrothed (plays on the sense of "diminished," i.e. by not having children) eyes perhaps puns on "I'S"
6 Feed'st ... fuel i.e. like a candle, the young man feeds his flame (i.e. his life) with his own body 9 fresh young, lively, blooming
10 herald messenger (announcing the approach of spring) gaudy bright (without connotations of vulgarity)
11 bud an image of youth, also of virginity; may additionally refer to the glans of the penis content happiness/contents (i.e. potential children)
12 tender churl a paradox: he is both loving/sensitive (tender) and mean/boorish (a churl) mak'st waste wastes/lays waste, destroys
niggarding being mean, stingy; another paradox--he wastes by being sparing 14 the world's due what he owes the world (children)