Sonnet 134 is one of
154 sonnets written by the English poet and playwright
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. In it, the speaker confronts
the Dark Lady
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
after learning that she has seduced
the Fair Youth.
Synopsis
In the first
quatrain, the speaker confesses that both he and
the friend are at the mistress's mercy; in the second one, he surmises that the attachment will hold, due to the friend's naivete and the mistress's greed.
The remainder of the poem construes the mistress as an unethical moneylender: metaphorically, she lent her beauty to the speaker and then collected the friend as interest.
Structure
Sonnet 134 is an English or Shakespearean
sonnet. The English sonnet has three
quatrains, followed by a final rhyming
couplet. It follows the typical
rhyme scheme
A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other.
An example of the ABAB r ...
of the form ABAB CDCD EFEF GG and is composed in
iambic pentameter
Iambic pentameter () is a type of metric line used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. The term describes the rhythm, or meter, established by the words in that line; rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables called " feet". "Iam ...
, a type of poetic
metre
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...
based on five pairs of metrically weak/strong syllabic positions. The 1st line exemplifies a regular iambic pentameter:
× / × / × / × / × /
So, now I have confess'd that he is thine (134.1)
:/ = ''ictus'', a metrically strong syllabic position. × = ''nonictus''.
Line 8 begins with a common metrical variation, the initial reversal:
/ × × / × / × / × /
Under that bond that him as fast doth bind. (134.8)
A potential initial reversal occurs in line 4. Line 13 contains both an initial reversal and a potential mid-line reversal.
In line 7 the meter demands the two-syllable Elizabethan pronunciation of "surety".
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sonnet 134
British poems
Sonnets by William Shakespeare