Department of English
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University
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Sonnet CXXXVIII
(1609)
William Shakespeare
(1564–1616)
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, | |
Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties. | |
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, | 5 |
Although she knows my days are past the best, | |
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue: | |
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed. | |
But wherefore says she not she is unjust? | |
And wherefore say not I that I am old? | 10 |
Oh, love’s best habit is in seeming trust, | |
And age in love loves not to have years told. | |
Therefore I lie with her and she with me, | |
And in our faults by lies we flattered be. |
Sonnet CXXXVIII Notes
1 made of truth: faithful, truthful; note pun on the word made which sounds like maid which suggests a virginal or virtuous girl
11 habit: something one is used to doing; garment, clothing, dress
13 lie: to speak falsehood to; to have sexual intercourse with
Paraphrase of the sonnet (line by line)
When my love swears that she is made of truth, | a | 1 | When my lover says that she is faithful |
I do believe her, though I know she lies, | b | 2 | I believe her even though I know that she is lying |
That she might think me some untutored youth, | a | 3 | so that she will think that I'm young and inexperienced, |
Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties. | b | 4 | not knowing about the world's trickiness. |
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, | c | 5 | So, in tricking myself into thinking that she thinks that I am young, |
Although she knows my days are past the best, | d | 6 | even though she knows that I am not young, |
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue: | c | 7 | I easily make her lies into something true; |
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed. | d | 8 | this, then, is how both of us cover up simple truth. |
But wherefore says she not she is unjust? | e | 9 | But why doesn't she say that she is unfaithful? |
And wherefore say not I that I am old? | f | 10 | And why don't I say that I am old? |
Oh, love’s best habit is in seeming trust, | e | 11 | Ah, love likes very much to pretend to believe |
And age in love loves not to have years told. | f | 12 | and an old person in love doesn't like to be reminded how old he/she is. |
Therefore I lie with her and she with me, | g | 13 | So I tell her lies and have sex with her and she tells me lies and has sex with me, |
And in our faults by lies we flattered be. | g | 14 | and, even though we are flawed, we are happy because of lies. |
Paraphrase of the sonnet
When my lover insists that she is faithful, I believe her although I know that she is lying so that she'll think I'm young and naive and know nothing about the various insincerities of the world. So, in tricking myself into a self-gratifying belief that my lover thinks I am young (although she really knows I am not so young), I easily make her lies true. This, then, is how the both of us cover up simple truth. But why doesn't she just say that she is unfaithful? And why don't I just say that I am old? Ah, it is because love is most often cloaked in pretence and very used to faking innocent belief, and an old person in love doesn't like to be reminded of his/her age. And so I tell my lover lies and sleep with her and she tells me lies and sleeps with me, and we are both made happy, despite our flaws, by these lies.
Paraphrase of the sonnet (variations for discussion)
When my love swears that she is made of truth, |
a |
1 |
When my lover says that she is faithful When my lover insists that she is true to me |
I do believe her, though I know she lies, |
b |
2 |
I believe her even though I know that she is lying I believe what she says although I know she's lying |
That she might think me some untutored youth, |
a |
3 |
so that she will think that I'm young and inexperienced, so that she'd think I'm a naive boy |
Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties. |
b |
4 |
not knowing about the world's trickiness. inexperienced with the sophisticated deceptions in the world. |
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, |
c |
5 |
So, in tricking myself into thinking that she thinks that I am young, So, in uselessly tricking myself into the conceited belief that she thinks I'm young |
Although she knows my days are past the best, |
d |
6 |
even though she knows that I am not young, (when she knows perfectly well that I am not so) |
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue: |
c |
7 |
I easily make her lies into something true; I'm easily turning her falsity into a true and valid thing; |
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed. |
d |
8 |
this, then, is how both of us cover up simple truth. so this is how we both stifle simple truth. |
But wherefore says she not she is unjust? |
e |
9 |
But why doesn't she say that she is unfaithful? Why though doesn't she come out and tell me she is not being true to me? |
And wherefore say not I that I am old? |
f |
10 |
And why don't I say that I am old? And why don't I also just admit that I am old? |
Oh, love’s best habit is in seeming trust, |
e |
11 |
Ah, love likes very much to pretend to believe Alas, love is best shown in a semblance of fidelity Alas, love works best if it pretends to be innocent Love is most used to appearing to be trusting |
And age in love loves not to have years told. |
f |
12 |
and an old person in love doesn't like to be reminded how old he/she is. and an old person who is in love doesn't like to think about how old he really is |
Therefore I lie with her and she with me, |
g |
13 |
So I tell her lies and have sex with her and she tells me lies and has sex with me, This is why I pretend with her and she with me as we sleep together |
And in our faults by lies we flattered be. |
g |
14 |
and, even though we are flawed, we are happy because of lies. because the lies allow us to feel good despite our imperfections. because the lies give our defective selves gratification. |
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Links |
Early Modern English
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William Shakespeare |
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Some books on Shakespeare at Chula
Booth, Stephen. Shakespeare's Sonnets. New Haven: Yale UP, 1977. Print.
Other critical writings on Shakespeare
Vendler, Helen. The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets. Cambridge: Belknap, 1999. Print.
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Last updated July 20, 2011