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Sonnet 138 |
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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 untutor'd youth,
Unlearned 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 side thus is simple truth suppress'd:
But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
And wherefore says not I that I am old?
O! 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 flatter'd be.
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| –William Shakespeare |
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Sonnet 138 is one of the most famous of William Shakespeare's sonnets. Making use of frequent puns ("lie" and "lie" being the most obvious), it shows an understanding of the nature of truth and flattery in romantic relationships. The poem has also been argued to be biographical: many scholars have suggested that the poem was Shakespeare discussing his frustrating relationship with the Dark Lady, a frequent subject of many of the sonnets. To note, the Dark Lady was definitely not Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway. The poem's emphasis on age and deteriorating beauty may also be issues Shakespeare had to confront as he grew older.
