HAKESPEARE'S SONNETS
This is part of the web site of Shakespeare's sonnets
Engravings of Tudor men and women, after Holbein. |
Home | Sonnets 1 - 50 | Sonnets 51 - 100 | Sonnets 101 - 154 | A Lover's Complaint. | Sonnet no. 1 |
First line index | Title page and Thorpe's Dedication | Some Introductory Notes to the Sonnets | Sonnets as plain text 1-154 | Text facsimiles | Other related texts of the period |
Picture
Gallery |
Thomas Wyatt Poems | Other Authors | General notes for background details, general policies etc. | Map of the site | Valentine Poems |
London Bridge as it was in Shakespeare's day, circa 1600. | Views of London as it was in 1616. | Views of Cheapside London, from a print of 1639. | The Carrier's Cosmography. A guide to all the Carriers in London. As given by John Taylor in 1637. | Oxquarry Books Ltd | |
OMMENTARY
SONNET 146 CXLVI
In keeping with the theme of the sonnet, or rather its anti-theme, I have enriched this web page with many costly gay illustrations. This will affect download times, but I hope readers will be patient, for the pictures are well worth looking at. | ||
CXLVI |
Various moralistic tracts from Mediaeval times onwards lamented the way the soul was neglected in favour of the body, and there was a long tradition of dialogues held between the two. It is probable that the debate goes back to ancient times and to Stoic beliefs, for Stoicism despised worldly and material goods in favour of the spiritual life, and Neo-Platonism elevated the soul to a status well above that of the body. However this sonnet derives probably from a more homely tradition and relies more upon the moral opprobrium heaped upon extravagant displays of wealth by writers with a puritanical or jealous cast of mind, and perhaps also on sermons delivered from the pulpits. I set out below two extracts from contemporary authors which give the flavour of the criticism levelled against the society of the time. It is said that this
is one of Shakespeare's profoundly
religious sonnets, almost the only religious one. Profoundly meditative
might be a better description, since it nowhere mentions God, although
it
certainly considers the threat of impending death. Within the
sonneteering
tradition there had also developed a tradition of renunciation. The
lover,
tired of endlessly battering at the impregnable walls of the beloved's
chastity,
might as a final protest retire to the contemplative and religious
life.
To a certain extent the germ of this trend had been sown by Dante and
Petrarch.
Sidney comes close to it on occasion, as for example in 47
|
|
Extracts from Harrison and Nashe
Oh how much
cost is bestowed nowadays upon our
bodies, and how little upon our souls! How many suits of apparel hath
the
one, and how little furniture hath the other! How long time is asked in
decking up of the first, and how little space left wherein to feed the
latter!.............
William Harrison, Description of England 1587. 2nd Ed.
Both these extracts are taken from The Cambridge Anthologies, Life in Shakespeare's England. Compiled by J. D. Wilson. 1911. |
We here in London, what for dressing ourselves, following our worldly affairs, dining, supping, and keeping company, have no leisure, not only not to watch against sin, but not so much as once to think of sin. In bed, wives must question their husbands about housekeeping, and providing for their children and family. No service must God expect of us, but a little in Lent, and in sickness and adversity. Our gorgeous attire we make not to serve him, but to serve the flesh. ............. One thing it is for a man to lift himself to God, another thing to lift up himself against God. In pranking up our carcasses too proudly, we lift up our flesh against God. In lifting up our flesh, we depress our spirits. London, lay off thy gorgeous attire, and cast down thyself before God in contrition and prayer, lest he cast thee down in His indignation into hell fire. .............. Oh, what is beauty more than a wind blown bladder, that it should forget whereto it is born? It is the food of cloying concupiscence, living; and the substance of the most noisome infection, being dead. The mothers of the justest men are not freed from corruption, the mothers of kings and emperors are not freed from corruption. No gorgeous attire (man or woman) hast thou in this world, but the wedding garment of faith. Thy winding sheet shall see thee in none of thy silks and shining robes ; to show they are not of God, when thou goest to God, thou shalt lay them all off. Then shalt thou restore to every creature what thou hast robbed him of. All the leases which dust let out to life, at the day of death shall be returned into his hands. Thomas Nashe Christs Teares over Ierusalem 1593. |
THE 1609 QUARTO VERSION
Painting thy outward walls ſo coſtlie gay? Why ſo large coſt hauing ſo ſhort a leaſe, Doſt thou vpon thy fading manſion ſpend? Shall wormes inheritors of this exceſſe, Eate vp thy charge?is this thy bodies end? Then ſoule liue thou vpon thy ſeruants loſſe, And let that pine to aggrauat thy ſtore; Buy tearmes diuine in ſelling houres of droſſe: Within be fed, without be rich no more, So ſhalt thou feed on death,that feeds on men, And death once dead,ther's no more dying then.
|
There's
nothing grieve me, but that
Age should haste, Well
may my soul, immortal and divine,
Leave
me, O Love, which reachest but
to dust! |
|||
|
Splendidis longum valedico nugis I bid a long farewell to all that bright nothingness. |
1. Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth,
|
1. Poor
soul - usually taken as the
poet addressing his own soul in its wretchedness. Hence the poem
becomes
a meditation on mortality, and is one of the most famous contemptus
mundi
(disgust with the world) poems ever written. See for
example Sidney's
poem above 'Leave me o love, which reachest but to dust'. As mentioned in the
introductory note, it is possible
to interpret these lines in a different sense, for the beloved could be
the poor soul addressed, as she was and is the
centre of the poet's
sinful earth, just as she was the centre of his sinful loving in sonnet
142 |
|
2. ( ??? ) these rebel powers that thee array, |
2.
(???) - Q repeats my sinful earth
from the previous line, a fairly obvious error. Many
emendations have
been proposed, such as Foiled by these, Fenced by these,
Rebuke these,
Fool'd by those, Starv'd by the. Any choice is partially
irrational,
but I marginally prefer Feeding these which is
adopted by KDJ and
HV, since it reflects the later imagery of death eating men, and also
echoes
Harrison's How long time is asked in decking up of the first,
and how
little space left wherein to feed the latter!............. (See
above).
rebel powers - there is some uncertainty as to what these are, possibly the passions, possibly the body and its parts, possibly the glitter and showiness of clothing and riches, possibly the love of these things. But it seems that, whatever they are, they are besieging the soul, and also, paradoxically, adorning it. array = clothe, cover; disfigure, dirty, defile, (OED.10.c); marshal (for battle). The latter meaning is somewhat awkward, but seems to be demanded by the context. The soul is betrayed by rebel powers which, hiding within the body, undermine it (the soul), seek to do battle with it and at the same time adorn it with the gaiety of cosmetics and clothing. |
|
3. Why dost thou pine within and suffer dearth, | 3.
pine = languish, waste away. within = within the body, within the citadel. suffer dearth = endure famine and starvation. The soul remains unfed because all the efforts of reason and passion are devoted to satisfying the body. |
|
4. Painting thy outward walls so costly gay? |
4.
Painting = decorating. The walls of
a town were often decorated with flags, bunting and other material
hangings.
In time of siege it might have been used as a ploy to show that there
were
no shortages, so as to dismay the enemy. However the imagery here
merges
into that of cosmetic adornment of the face and limbs, and sumptuous
clothing.
(See the extract from Nashe above, which also contains the following: Scandalous
and shameful is it, that not any in thee [i.e. England]
(fishermen
and husbandmen set aside) but live above their ability and birth; that
the
outward habit (which in other countries is the only distinction of
honour)
should yield in thee no distinction of persons....) Compare
also the
passage from Harrison, which emphasises the cost. The outward walls of
a
person are figuratively their skin, face and limbs, but the word is
used
to make the contrast between outer show and inner worth, as in Sonnet
16:
Which this, Time's pencil, or my pupil pen, Neither in inward worth nor outward fair, Can make you live yourself in eyes of men. 16. and in 46: As thus; mine eye's due is thy outward part, And my heart's right thy inward love of heart. 46 where the contrast is between the outward beauty, plus the riches that the clothing and outer decoration of the body can show, and the inner worth of the person. Compare also: ....................................I do not think So fair an outward and such stuff within Endows a man but he. Cym.I.1.22-4. The praise is of Posthumus Leonatus, who is both handsome and of a fine character. Sidney also uses outward when describing Cupid residing in his mistress: Playing and shining in each outward part: But, fool, seekst not to get into her heart. A&S.11. so costly gay = so bright and cheerful, at so great a cost. |
|
5. Why so large cost, having so short a lease, |
5.
so large cost = such vast expense
(on clothing etc.) having so short a lease - the body was leased from Nature by the soul, but the leasehold was short. As in : So should that beauty which you hold in lease Find no determination: 13 See also the Nashe extract above, but especially All the leases which dust let out to life, at the day of death shall be returned into his hands. (i.e. into God's hands). The uncertainty of life was much more of a factor in determining one's thoughts than it is in the modern Western world. Life expectancy was about half what it is today. At any time the plague, or smallpox, or other incurable diseases could take one off. Mostly the reasons were unknown and certainly beyond anyone's control. Shakespeare himself lost his son Hamnet, and his brother Edmund died while he was in London. Stories of sudden death were common, and wealth did not necessarily improve one's chances of survival. The wife of Philip of Spain, Maria, was reported to have died as a result of imprudently eating a lemon shortly after childbirth. Perhaps it was because of the uncertainties of life, rather than in despite of them, that extravagances and rich attire were so apparent, since it was considered important to have a good time while one could, and tomorrow might be too late. |
|
6. Dost thou upon thy fading mansion spend?
|
6.
thy fading mansion = your body, which
houses the soul. It is fading because it is growing old, as a building
ages
and goes gradually to rack and ruin. Compare: Her house is sacked, her quiet interrupted, Her mansion battered by the enemy, Her sacred temple spotted, spoiled, corrupted. Luc.1170-2. describing Lucrece's soul and body after the rape. |
|
7. Shall worms, inheritors of this excess,
|
7. worms,
inheritors - the worms which
ate up the buried corpses in the churchyards. A similar usage in: this excess = this extravagance, this excessive expenditure on your body. |
|
8. Eat up thy charge? Is this thy body's end? | 8. thy charge = your (the soul's) cost; the thing which is put in your charge, i.e. your body; your burden (the thing you are laden (charged) with). | |
9. Then soul, live thou upon thy servant's loss,
|
9.
Then soul = If that is the case, my
soul, (or thy soul), that the body is to be eaten by worms, then etc. thy servant's loss = whatever the body (the soul's servant) is deprived of. I.e. take revenue from the body and give it to the soul. Do not waste your money on material things, food and clothing, but spend it on divine things, prayers, masses etc. |
|
10. And let that pine to aggravate thy store;
|
10.
let that pine = allow your body (that)
to waste away, long for food, desire. to = in order to. aggravate = aggrandise, make heavier, more substantial. From the Latin gravare, to make heavy, with the prefix ad (to). Possibly with suggestions of 'aggrieve' (see the sonnet from Fidessa above), or 'the grave'. But the line could be interpreted in a number of different ways, especially as the application of aggravate in this context could suggest that the store is being damaged, or burdened, rather than being advantageously added to. |
|
11. Buy terms divine in selling hours of dross;
A Holbein portrait. See below for details. |
11.
terms divine = what we might nowadays
call 'futures', but in this case bought on the heavenly market. There
is
possibly a reference to the selling of indulgences, one of the
practices
of the 15th century Church which provoked the Reformation. For certain
sums
of money dispensations stamped with a holy seal could be bought which
gave
absolution from sins, and redemption from the pains of purgatory.
Forgiveness
was only granted on certain terms and conditions, of which the chief
one
was actually paying the required money. One could even buy indulgences
for
the dead, to free them from their suffering in purgatory. Belief in
their
efficacy was widespread. The papacy had more or less taken to itself
alone
the right to grant indulgences, since the fiscal implications were
enormous,
but it would grant to other clerics permission to sell them to raise
money
for specific purposes. The scheme was used by the Church to bring in
revenue.
However it must be admitted that OED does not support this meaning of the word. The usual interpretation of the phrase divine terms is that it refers to 'heavenly time', 'ages spent in contemplation of the divine', based on the meaning of term as duration, length of time (OED.4.a.). Shakespeare most frequently uses terms to mean 'conditions of an agreement', as in: What treason were it to the ransack'd queen, Disgrace to your great worths and shame to me, Now to deliver her possession up On terms of base compulsion! TC.II.2.15--3. or 'expressions, words', as in : Taffeta phrases, silken terms precise LLL.V.2.405. The implied meaning of terms divine is therefore 'agreements with god' or 'promises from god', which presumably are bought with prayer, penance and meditation on divine beauty. hours of dross = hours spent in unworthy pursuits. dross was technically an impure scum scraped off from the surface in the smelting of metals, but was generally used of any impure or worthless matter. As in : A golden mind stoops not to shows of dross; I'll then nor give nor hazard aught for lead. MV.II.7.20-1. |
|
12. Within be fed, without be rich no more: | 12. Feed your inner self, and do not waste spiritual effort on enriching the body with trash. | |
13. So shall thou feed on Death, that feeds on men,
|
13.
So = by doing this, i.e. by following
a rule of life which pays attention to spiritual rather than bodily
needs.
feed on Death which feeds on men - Death was the great devourer of all things, and had no pity. The poet claims that by adopting spiritual values the tables are turned, and the soul will thereby feed on Death, whereas, before, Death was destroying it. Technically however the soul was supposed to be immortal, but Death here probably stands in place of eternal damnation, and in any case the line echoes many passages from the Bible, both the Old and the New Testaments. E.g. Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him. Ps.49.15-17. |
|
14. And Death once dead, there's no more dying then. |
14.
Again many biblical passages and religious
ideas are invoked: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 1Corr.15.52-5. It is noticeable that the sonnet, for all its religious connotations, does not in fact give much practical advice of what to do in the face of death, other than to buy terms divine, and to 'be fed within', which are such vague directives as to be almost useless. In many ways the poem is more easily read as a tirade against rich clothing and extravagance and against his mistress who is enslaved to them, offering her advice about her eternal salvation and enjoining her to change her ways. (See the introductory note) . |
|
Next Sonnet | ||
Previous Sonnet |
Home | Sonnets 1 - 50 | Sonnets 51 - 100 | Sonnets 101 - 154 | A Lover's Complaint. | Sonnet no. 1 |
First line index | Title page and Thorpe's Dedication | Some Introductory Notes to the Sonnets | Sonnets as plain text 1-154 | Text facsimiles | Other related texts of the period |
Picture
Gallery |
Thomas Wyatt Poems | Other Authors | General notes for background details, general policies etc. | Map of the site | Valentine Poems |
London Bridge as it was in Shakespeare's day, circa 1600. | Views of London as it was in 1616. | Views of Cheapside London, from a print of 1639. | The Carrier's Cosmography. A guide to all the Carriers in London. As given by John Taylor in 1637. | Oxquarry Books Ltd | |
If you wish to comment on this site: please refer to the home page. | If
you have enjoyed this web site, please
visit its companion - Pushkin's Poems |
||||
|