Sonnet 139: O, call not me to justify the wrong
O, call not me to justify the wrong
That thy unkindness lays upon my heart;
Wound me not with thine eye but with thy tongue;
Use power with power, and slay me not by art.
Tell me thou lov’st elsewhere; but in my sight,
Dear heart, forbear to glance thine eye aside;
What need’st thou wound with cunning when thy might
Is more than my o’erpressed defense can bide?
Let me excuse thee: ah, my love well knows
Her pretty looks have been mine enemies;
And therefore from my face she turns my foes,
That they elsewhere might dart their injuries—
Yet do not so; but since I am near slain,
Kill me outright with looks and rid my pain.
Summary of Sonnet 139
- Popularity of “Sonnet 139”: First published like all other ‘dark lady’ sonnets in 1609 in the First Quarto, this beautiful sonnet is also from the pen of the iconic English poet and playwright, William Shakespeare. The sonnet is unique in that the poet has expressed his deep and intense love despite the perfidy of his beloved. The popularity of the sonnet lies in the fact that the poet/speaker knows that his beloved is insincere to him and yet he continues loving her publicly.
- “Sonnet 139” As a Representative of Sincere Love: The speaker, who happens to be none other than the poet himself, pleads with the dark lady or his beloved not to hurt or call him to justify her wrong of loving somebody else. Instead, the speaker wants her to be outspoken in her perfidy instead of flirting with others in his presence. He is of the view that she should not use art or deception to beguile him but be straightforward. The speaker goes on to say that the might of her beauty is more than his defensive power against this allurement, adding that he wants to seek an apology in stating that he cannot resist the allurement of her eyes.
That is why he loves her because the speaker asserts that he knows that she turns her eyes to his enemies to kill them, that otherwise would have saved their lives. Yet, the speaker does not advise her to do so. He rather pleads with her to kill him instead so that he can get out of this misery of seeing her with his foes. - Major Themes in “Sonnet 139”: Intense love, perfidy, and allurements of the beauty of the beloved are major thematic strands of this sonnet. The poet is outspoken and straightforward in accusing the dark lady of being treacherous to him before his very eyes. This is his intense love that he cannot brook her loving others or even looking at others with love. Yet, he cannot leave her after this perfidy with which she has hurt him. He knows that the main allurement of the beauty of the dark lady lies in her eyes, and he does not leave her as she even kills his enemies when she turns her eyes toward them. That is why he also pleads with her that she should kill him with her looks so that he can get rid of this pain of perfidy of her love.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Sonnet 139
William Shakespeare’s skill in using various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of this sonnet is perfect. Some of the major literary devices are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /a/ and /o/ in “Use power with power, and slay me not by art” and the sound of /i/ in “That they elsewhere might dart their injuries.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick successions, such as the sound of /th/ in “that thy” or /w/ in “wound with.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /p/ and /t/ in “Use power with power, and slay me not by art” and the sound of /t/ in “Tell me thou lov’st elsewhere; but in my sight.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. William Shakespeare used imagery in this poem, such as “Use power with power, and slay me not by art”, “Her pretty looks have been mine enemies” and “That they elsewhere might dart their injuries.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects different in nature. The poet used the metaphor of love for his beloved.
- Rhetorical Question: It means to pose a question not to elicit an answer but to stress a point. The sonnet shows the use of a rhetorical question, such as “Is more than my o’erpressed defense can bide?”
- 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 heart, tongue, power, and heart to show love.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Sonnet 139
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 such as wrong/tongue and heart/art.
- Rhyme Scheme: This sonnet shows the typical Shakespeare rhyme scheme of ABABCDCD in its octave and EFEFGG in its sestet.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas, as in a sonnet. The first one is an octave, and the second is a sestet, as pointed out in Rhyme Scheme.
- Sonnet: It is a fourteen-lined poem. This poem is a sonnet.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The sonnet shows a plaintive, loving, and decisive tone at different places.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when pointing out the mistake of some friend.
O, call not me to justify the wrong
That thy unkindness lays upon my heart;
Wound me not with thine eye but with thy tongue;
Use power with power, and slay me not by art.
