The Place 2 Be: Shakespeare's Sonnets

Critique of Sonnet 87

SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS

Theme: Loss of Patron
Content: Great dignity and modesty at a time of loss: the ending of his relationship with his subject.

Farewell thou art too dear for my possessing,
And like enough thou know'st thy estimate:
The charter of thy worth gives thee releasing;
My bonds in thee are all determinate.

The end of his relationship with his subject who is worth more than him. The relationship is a formal one as alluded to in charter and bonds.

Farewell though, rather than "Goodbye" leaving open the prospect of future reconciliation.

Possible pun on dear: "too precious" and "too costly".

Counterpoint in the rhyming of possessing with releasing.

Counterpoint also in the rhyming of estimate with determinate.

This is a th sonnet: thou…thou…thy…The…thy worth…thee…thee

For how do I hold thee but by thy granting?
And for that riches where is my deserving?
The cause of this fair gift in me is wanting,
And so my patent back again is swerving.

He is at the mercy of his patron who doesn't owe him anything, and he doesn't deserve anything.

A mass of feminine line endings.

Counterpoint in thy granting with my deserving and wanting.

Singular relationship between subject and author asserted in patent.

The patent is swerving back to the grantor, indicative of the one-to-one patented relationship the poet enjoyed with his patron is now ending.

Th alliteration continues: thee…thy…that…The…this.

Thyself thou gav'st, thy own worth then not knowing,
Or me to whom thou gav'st it else mistaking;
So thy great gift, upon misprision growing,
Comes home again, on better judgement making.

Very self-effacing comment suggesting his patron did not initially know their own worth when they employed him as their poet and that they have now taken back that gift on better judgement.

Another mass of feminine line endings.

Counterpoint between knowing and mistaking.

Mid-line rhyme of upon and on.

th alliteration continues: Thyself thou…thy…worth then…thou…thy.

Thus have I had thee as a dream doth flatter:
In sleep a king, but waking no such matter.

Beautiful final couplet symbolising his patron's dream-like influence making him feel like a king but that going when reality bites.

Probable linkage between king in the couplet with the embedded kings in mistaKING and maKING in Q3.

Internal rhyme of a king with waking.

Contrasting linkage between the masculinity of king and all the feminine ing endings throughout the sonnet.

th alliteraton concludes: Thus…thee…doth.