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. Sonnet 56 . (original language, but moderately updated) 01. Sweet love renew thy force, be it not said 02. Thy edge should blunter be than appetite, 03. Which but today by feeding is allayed, 04. Tomorrow sharpened in his former might. 05. So love be thou, although today thou fill 06. Thy hungry eyes, even till they wink with fullness, 07. Tomorrow see again, and do not kill 08. The spirit of Love, with a perpetual dullness; 09. Let this sad Interim like the Ocean be 10. Which parts the shore, where two contracted new, 11. Come daily to the banks, that when they see 12. Return of love, more blest may be the view. 13. As call it Winter, which being full of care, 14. Makes Summer's welcome, thrice more wish'd, more rare. |
. Sonnet 56 . (paraphrased) 01. Sweet carnal desire, renew your energy, don't let it be said 02. Your "edge" should be less sharp than the appetite for food, 03. (Which is allayed only for a day by feeding, 04. And tomorrow is as insistent as ever.) 05. So, lust, you should be the same way, that although today you fill 06. Your hungry eyes (so to speak,) until they lose interest because of satiety, 07. Tomorrow, let your eyes see again, in the same lustful way, and do not smother 08. The spirit of Love, within, with an everlasting heaviness; 09. Let this sad interval, of lack of sexual arousal, be only like the ocean 10. Which divides opposite shores (and can therefore be crossed,) where two newlyweds might 11. Come daily to the opposite banks, so that when they finally see 12. The return of their lover, whom they lust for, the sight may be the more blessed (both emotionally and physically.) 13. Even call it Winter, a time which, because it's full of anxiety, 14. Makes Summer's glad appearance, that much more wished for, and even more valuable. |
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Sonnet 56 Gloss
L1: love - Used here in the sense of "lust." The physical side of love. L1: force = energy. L2: appetite = hunger (for food.) L3: but today = only for a day. L4: might = ability. L6: wink = drowse; nap. L7: see - A euphemism, still in use, for a sexual relationship. L7: kill = smother. The idea of the spirit within being smothered by the "heaviness" of the body. L8: spirit of Love = internal quality of romantic interest. Also intended to suggest Cupid. For lines 7 and 8 compare the notion, "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." L8: dullness = sleepiness; unaroused state. Heaviness. L9: Interim = interval. "Interim" is capitalized and italicized in the original, for a reason not clear, but perhaps because it was still seen as a Latin term of religious significance. The word "interim" apparently originated c. 1580 to describe a temporary accomodation between Protestants and Catholics. L10: contracted new = newly married. Newlyweds. L12: love = the loved one. The figure of speech of the loved one being love, itself. L12: blest = like a blessing from heaven. L12: view = sight (of the loved one.) L13: As = even. This is a dialectal use of "as." L13: care = anxiety. L14: welcome = glad arrival. To be read literally "well come." L14: thrice = very much. Used as an intensifier, after the manner of French 'tres.' L14: rare = valuable. Rarity is a major factor in value. |
Sonnet 56 Notes
The other person in Sonnet 56 is a woman, and a sexual partner, and in fact, it's his wife. "Contracted new" tells us - it's memory of being a newlywed with that woman. The Poet is wishing he had an aphrodisiac. His sexual performance is not what it used to be, and it bothers him. He's hoping the lessening of sexual interest is only temporary, and when he gets going again, it'll be like when they were newlyweds. The Ocean is like the distance from Stratford to London, or like the distance from Stratford to wherever he went early in his career as a traveling player. In those days, it was like newlyweds when he saw Mrs. Shakespeare again - after being away, he was all over her. But this last time home, he mostly just fell asleep in the chair after dinner - "wink with fullness." Regrets, to those who fantasize Shakespeare as some kind of bisexual superheroic Don Juan chasing every girl and boy in London, but the other person here is his wife. "Contracted": marriage contract. It's just old Mr. and Mrs. Shakespeare, at home. After dinner, she tidies up the dishes, and he falls asleep. Yawn. Except, he sure could write. The date of Sonnet 56 would be, maybe around the time he approached 40. ------- |
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