Sonnet 112
Your love and pity doth the impression fill,
Which vulgar scandal stamped upon my brow;
For what care I who calls me well or ill,
So you o’er-green my bad, my good allow?
You are my all-the-world, and I must strive
To know my shames and praises from your tongue;
None else to me, nor I to none alive,
That my steeled sense or changes right or wrong.
In so profound abysm I throw all care
Of others’ voices, that my adder’s sense
To critic and to flatterer stopped are.
Mark how with my neglect I do dispense:
You are so strongly in my purpose bred,
That all the world besides methinks y’are dead.
Summary of Sonnet 112
- Popularity of “Sonnet 112”: Occurring in the sequence of 154 sonnets written in the praise of Fair Youth, this beautiful sonnet by William Shakespeare was penned down during the sonnet writing era. It was later included in the First Quarto that was published in 1609. It expresses the love of the poet for the Fair Youth. However, the obscurity and circumlocutory ways of expressing this love are unique. This expression has made it popular across the globe.
- “Sonnet 112” As a Representative of Good Faith and Love: The poet opens the sonnet with a lengthy rhetorical question saying that he does not care whether somebody calls him good or bad. It is because this impression created by the bad people about him does not matter if his friend has good faith in him or whatever opinion he holds about him. The poet thinks that he does not care about anybody else. In fact, people do not care about his being alive or dead. What matters to him is the opinion of his friend, and this is going to make him good or bad, or right or wrong. The poet goes to the extreme in this good faith in his friend, saying that he does not care about criticism or flattery as his senses do not count these things much. Instead, he holds a fair contempt for such expressions. However, what he cares about is his friend, while he does not care about the world and what it thinks about him.
- Major Themes in “Sonnet 112”: Expression of good faith, love, and ignoring the world for love are major themes of this sonnet. The poet is very fair and frank in saying that he cares hell for others. In fact, he only cares about the words of his friend, saying that whether he considers him good or bad matters for him a lot as it makes up his reputation or paints a bad picture of him. This is a free expression of his good faith in his friend, which is also another name for love. This means that he could ignore the world and even avoid it, but he cannot ignore the comments of his friend. Only the comments of his friend matter, while he has already given no attention to criticism or flattery.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Sonnet 112
William Shakespeare’s use of various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of this sonnet is interesting and worthy of attention. Some major literary devices applied that proves this point is given below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ in “Which vulgar scandal stamped upon my brow” and the sound of /i/ in “So you o’er-green my bad, my good allow?.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick successions, such as the sound of /s/ in “scandal stamped” or “steeled sense” or “so strongly.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /k/ and /l/ in “For what care I who calls me well or ill” and the sound of /s/ in “That my steeled sense or changes right or wrong.”
- Enjambment: It means to roll over one verse to the next without a pause. This sonnet shows the use of enjambment, such as;
That my steeled sense or changes right or wrong.
In so profound abysm I throw all care
Of others’ voices, that my adder’s sense
To critic and to flatterer stopped are.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. William Shakespeare used imagery in this poem, such as “Which vulgar scandal stamped upon my brow”, “In so profound abysm I throw all care” and “To critic and to flatterer stopped are.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet used the metaphor of his lover or friend to a tongue whose speaking power is good for him.
- Rhetorical Question: This rhetorical device shows the use of a question not to get a response but to emphasize the main point. The sonnet shows the use of a rhetorical question, such as “So you o’er-green my bad, my good allow?”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as pity, love, scandal, world, and shame to show the intensity of the poet’s love for the Fair Youth.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Sonnet 112
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal and poetic diction.
- End Rhyme: It means to use verses having matching end words that rhyme with each other. This sonnet shows the end rhyme, such as fill/ill or brow/allow.
- Quatrain: It is a Persian stanza having four verses. This sonnet shows the use of three quatrains.
- Rhyme Scheme: This Shakespearean sonnet shows ABAB in quatrains and AA in the couplet.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are three quatrains and a couplet.
- Sonnet: It is a poem having fourteen verses. This poem is a sonnet as it has fourteen -verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The sonnet shows a loving, advising, and suggestive tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about the significance of a person in one’s life.
To critic and to flatterer stopped are.
Mark how with my neglect I do dispense:
You are so strongly in my purpose bred,
That all the world besides methinks y’are dead.