SHAKESPEARE’S

SONNET NO. 135

Sit Dolor Amet
 Table of Contents
• Formal Features
• Summary
• Imagery & Symbolism
• Analysis
• Eureka!
 Formal Features
◦ Divided into three quatrains and one couplet.
◦ The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
◦ The sounds A, E and G rhyme as well, this is a feature unique to this sonnet.
◦ The poet used many poetic devices such as:
◦ Enjambment
◦ Repetition
◦ Alliteration
◦ Metaphor
 Summary
◦ The poem addresses the Dark Lady.
◦ The poetic voice pleads with the object of the poem; he says
that she has a large number of lovers to satisfy her and he,
who has pleaded with her earnestly, is enough to satisfy her.
◦ Since her sexual appetite is so large then she should accept
him as her lover as well, even once, he asks if she would
continue to refuse him while accepting others.
◦ He asks to be her lover even though she already has many
more, and beseeches her to not hurt her lovers by denying
them.
 Imagery and Symbolism
◦ The imagery in this poem is of the sea.
◦ The poet describes the vastness of the sea which is already filled with water
and yet it accepts rain water within its depth.
◦ The poet asks the Dark Lady to be like the sea and accept him as her lover
even though she has many more men.
◦ Water imagery is a universal feminine symbol.
◦ In the poem the depths of the sea and its voluptuous waves can symbolize the
large sexual appetite of the Dark Lady as well as her sexual allure.
 Analysis
◦ This sonnet plays a lot with the word “will”, it repeats the word many times and each
time the meaning is different, it can refer to desire and may refer to the poet himself or
even refer to genitalia.
◦ The poem rests on the myth that female sexuality is destructive, not only is it
destructive for the woman but also for society. The lines “will in over-plus” is particular
implies women’s incapability is sexual matters and how it would lead to destruction.
◦ The poem also references the Bible; line 6, "...to hide my will in thine," hints at the
phrase, "Not my will but thine be done,“. This comparison aligns the poet with Christ
and the Dark Lady with God thus connecting love to religion.
 Eureka!
◦ One would think that the poet would adore the Dark Lady thus, the poetry would be
complimentary towards her.
◦ But that is not the case.
◦ The women’s indiscretion with love is emphasized with paints her in an unflattering
light.
◦ There is also a cynical tone to the poem; the poet is jealous of the woman’s other lovers,
bitter about the fact that she won’t accept him and he is cynical of his affection for her
as she has many lovers.
◦ What seems like a lovesick and sentimental poetry is merely a bawdy and cynical verse.
THANK YOU!