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SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS
This is the web site of Shakespeare's sonnets
COMMENTARY
SONNET XXXVIII
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| XLIX
1. Against that time, if ever that time come, |
| The poet gazes into the future and foresees a time when love will have perished, and the beloved youth will pass him by with averted eyes, scarcely looking upon the one he so much cherished in the past. In advance the poet forgives him, and declares that he himself will take the witness stand against himself. Love has no rationality, and the poet himself cannot find reasons as to why the youth should love him, since beauty, worth, wealth and wit belong to the youth, not to the poet. Therefore he forgives him his eventual desertion in advance, and justifies it in legal and formal terms. | ||
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THE 1609 QUARTO VERSION
49 |
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| The number 49 was regarded by the Elizabethans as an important, even critical number, being the seventh multiple of seven. Seventh sons were looked upon with special awe, the seventh son of a seventh son even more so. They were thought to have special healing powers. A quack in James I time was prosecuted for claiming to cure 'the evil' by the Touch, but it was discovered that his father had had only six sons. (Shakespeare’s England, Oxford 1916, I.427.) Elizabeth's survival past the grand climacteric, the 63rd year of her life, was thought to be almost miraculous. One therefore expects that this sonnet would have some special significance, given that Shakespeare seems to have taken great care over the numerical arrangement of the sequence. Nos. 12 and 60 both relate to clocks, and the total number of sonnets dedicated to the youth is 126, exactly double the grand climacteric number (63). In fact the most striking fact is that this sonnet, 49, and 63, both begin with the same words, and both look to the future, and to the farewell sonnet No 126. Against that time, if ever that time come, 49. It is as though the poet wishes to summarise and encapsulate the history of his love in these few sonnets placed at a critical juncture in the series. He is submitting to an audit of his love and doing so before the final event of death and separation, the end of all things mortal, however eternal they might have seemed for the moment, or in the glorious bravado of some of the eternising sonnets of the series. | |
| A | Gainqqqt that time I (if ever that time come ) |
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| When as thy loue hath caqqqt his utmoqqqt qqqumme, |
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| 1. Against that time, if ever that time come, |
| 1. Against that time = in preparation for that time |
| 2. When I shall see thee frown on my defects, |
| 2. defects = failings (physical, spiritual, social, moral); taints; inadequacies. |
| 3. When as thy love hath cast his utmost sum,
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| 3. When as = At the time when, when the time comes that; hath cast his utmost sum = has done its final summation of profit and loss; finally attempts to balance the account on both sides. utmost suggests an effort to extend the limit of his love beyond its natural termination date. The imagery is of accounting, and hard nosed business realism, confirmed by audit in the next line. There is therefore an implied criticism of the youth's mercenary and calculating love, as opposed to that of the poet, which is boundless and free. |
| 4. Called to that audit by advis'd respects;
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| 4. audit = an examination of accounts. In 4 and 126, in Q, the word is italicised and capitalised, in the latter case being spelt Audite, as here. This spelling emphasises the root meaning of the word, as a summons to a hearing in which the accounts were presented and examined by officials. advised respects = considerations of one's position in society. The word advised suggests the listening to advice given by others about the danger of friendship with unsuitable persons, for example, the damage to one's social standing, etc. etc. Shakespeare uses the phrase in John.IV.2. It is the curse of kings to be attended |
| 5. Against that time when thou shalt strangely pass, |
| 5. strangely = as a stranger; awkwardly. pass = walk past, pass by. |
| 6. And scarcely greet me with that sun, thine eye,
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| 6. that sun, thine eye - this recalls the imagery of 7, 18, 33. in which the sun is an eye which looks upon the world, or is associated with eyes in some way. In fact, contrary to first impressions, the word 'sun' is not used very often in the sonnets, only eight times (including one plural), whereas 'eye' occurs much more frequently. (eye = 28, eyes = 36). The idea conveyed here is that of the majesty of the sun which the eye of the beloved recalls. I t gilds all objects upon which it looks. |
| 7. When love, converted from the thing it was,
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| 7. converted = turned away. The basic meaning is to turn or revolve, from the Latin convertere. Used thus here and in Sonn.7: But the figurative meaning of to cause to change a belief or religion is also present, and was used elsewhere by Shakespeare. Cf. MV: In converting Jews to Christians, you raise the price of pork. MV. III..5.37. the thing it was - as HV points out, it is as if he cannot find adequate words to express what the love of the youth was towards him. |
| 8. Shall reasons find of settled gravity;
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| 8. reasons = reasons to justify desertion; settled gravity = well-established, or staid sobriety. The basic meaning of gravity derives from the term gravitas applied to men of high standing in ancient Rome, the patricians (or optimates). It denoted seriousness of purpose and behaviour. The nearest modern equivalents are sobriety, decorum, seriousness. Cf. |
| 9. Against that time do I ensconce me here,
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| 9. ensconce = secure myself with fortifications; figuratively - set myself up in a position ready for defence. A sconce was a minor fortification or earthwork. The poet here is however not planning to defend himself, but to defend the youth against the alleged crime of desertion. |
| 10. Within the knowledge of mine own desert, |
| 10. His knowledge of his own (un)worthiness will be the basis of his defence of the youth. |
| 11. And this my hand, against my self uprear, |
| 11. As in a military encounter; or in taking an oath in the witness box. this my hand could also apply to hand-writing, hence to the poem itself. |
| 12. To guard the lawful reasons on thy part: |
| 12. To guard - A continuation of the military metaphor. The meaning here seems to be to offer, as a defence, lawful reasons etc. |
| 13. To leave poor me thou hast the strength of laws, |
| 13. poor me - a typical belittlement of his own worth, which as elsewhere has a double edged meaning. The lover is poor because he is potentially in so much danger of being abandoned by the loved one. |
| 14. Since why to love I can allege no cause.
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| 14. I can allege no cause - the formula is a legal or ecclesiastical one, as in The Book of Common Prayer 1549. Matrimony: ...Yf no impedimente bee alleged. OED also gives 1513–14 Act 5 Hen. VIII, c. 1 If the same persons...obiecte or allege any cause why he shall not soo doo. (Under object) |
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