The Passionate Pilgrim
When my love swears that she is made of truth,
I do believe her (though I know she lies)
That she might think me some untutored youth,
Unskillful in the world’s false forgeries.
Thus, vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
Although I know my years be past the best,
I, simply, credit her false-speaking tongue,
Outfacing faults in love, with love’s ill rest.
But wherefore says my love that she is unjust?
And wherefore say not I, that I am old?
O, love’s best habit's in a soothing tongue,
And age in love loves not to have years told.
Therefore I'll lie with love, and love, with me,
Since that our faults in love thus smothered be.
Since this sonnet was written by Shakespear himself, I think it's pretty safe to say that this is a classic Elizabethan/Shakespearean sonnet. I didn't notice any modifications from the traditional structure. In Shakespearean sonnets, the volta occurs in the last two lines. In this poem, the shift is from listing the dishonesties of his lover to declaring that he doesn't care that she is dishonest and will lover her anyway. One could also argue that there is a shift in line 9, where the speaker begins to question the reasons why he might not love his companion, but this does not detract from the declaration in the last two lines. These shifts combine to reinforce the poems meaning of love despite faults, which is a theme of many Shakespearean sonnets. I chose this poem because it was a classic example of a sonnet and would be most likely to improve my understanding of this form of poetry.
I do believe her (though I know she lies)
That she might think me some untutored youth,
Unskillful in the world’s false forgeries.
Thus, vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
Although I know my years be past the best,
I, simply, credit her false-speaking tongue,
Outfacing faults in love, with love’s ill rest.
But wherefore says my love that she is unjust?
And wherefore say not I, that I am old?
O, love’s best habit's in a soothing tongue,
And age in love loves not to have years told.
Therefore I'll lie with love, and love, with me,
Since that our faults in love thus smothered be.
Since this sonnet was written by Shakespear himself, I think it's pretty safe to say that this is a classic Elizabethan/Shakespearean sonnet. I didn't notice any modifications from the traditional structure. In Shakespearean sonnets, the volta occurs in the last two lines. In this poem, the shift is from listing the dishonesties of his lover to declaring that he doesn't care that she is dishonest and will lover her anyway. One could also argue that there is a shift in line 9, where the speaker begins to question the reasons why he might not love his companion, but this does not detract from the declaration in the last two lines. These shifts combine to reinforce the poems meaning of love despite faults, which is a theme of many Shakespearean sonnets. I chose this poem because it was a classic example of a sonnet and would be most likely to improve my understanding of this form of poetry.
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