| Sonnet 129 |
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The expense of spirit in a waste of shame |
| –William Shakespeare |
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This Sonnet provides a warning against lust and lists lists the concequences of giving in to lustfulness. The first twelve lines of the poem all add to the first: “The expense of spirit in a waste of shame”. The second verse places a frame around the first “Is lust in action; and till action, lust”. The first packet of information within this verse shows that the “expense of spirit” referred to is the pursuit of love—one expends their spirit lusting. It is, however, the second packet of information within the second verse, “and till action, lust”, that the remaining six lines of the first octet inveigh against, that is to say, unconsummated lust. These lines explain Shakespeares' opinion of lust—the following two lines list how a man acts, that is: “Perjured, murderous, savage, etc...”. The third quatrain is filled with statements denouncing even the ultimate goal of the lust, the action, such as: “Mad in pursuit and in possession so” [Verse 9]. Here, Shakespeare points out that not only is one mad lusting till action, but mad too at the consummation of the action. This is further corroborated by verse 11, “A bliss in proof, and proved, a very woe.” The sonnet is capped by a pause and a deliberation of thought, delivered in a rhymed couplet, as the reader reflects that even though each man knows the folly of this lustful pursuit.
The first twelve lines are all one sentence, leading the reader on, forcing them to gabble out the sonnet with no time to slow down and to take account of what is said. Furthering this is the structure of individual verses themselves; in the second and third quatrains, each verse is composed of two packets of information, with the second half qualifying the first. Were this an improvised speech, this construction is indicative of a speaker, in the rush of the moment, coming up with a point then explaining until another pops into his head. Adding to this is the similar choice of words throughout each line—the speaker, as written, seizes upon one word and uses it two or three times throughout the verse. If not the exact word, it is often the same word in a different part of speech, or a word with a similar timbre. This, too, is a device of improvised speech—it's simplest to associate words with themselves, or, again, with those of similar timbre. With this is mind, we see the speaker throwing out his thoughts.
It is not until the twelfth line that the speaker regains his composure and is able to deliver a closing statement in the rhymed couplet that follows. Though the rhyme scheme of the Elizabethan Sonnet form is not Shakespeare's invention, he uses this also to shape the reader's interpretation and the speaker's delivery. Each verse comes with an expectation of rhyme, as no rhymes are resolved immediately and by the time any are, a new set of oddly resolving rhyme appears. It is only in the ending couplet that rhyme resolves completely. Therefore, for all lines but the couplet, the speaker is drawn onwards towards the next rhyme. Through these techniques, Shakespeare is able to describe an inexact feeling—not by recounting a specific sensory experience but by forcing the reader to speak his words as the reader would speak original words that happen to share Shakespeare's view.