Sonnet 37

Synopsis

Shakespeare's Sonnet 37 returns to a number of themes sounded in the first 25 of the cycle, such as the effects of age and recuperation from age, and the blurred boundaries between lover and beloved. However, the tone is more complex than in the earlier poems: after the betrayal treated in Sonnets 34–36, the speaker does not return to a simple celebration. The speaker compares himself to an aging father who takes pleasure in his son's achievements, suggesting that he derives comfort from the beloved's qualities despite his own misfortune. He lists attributes such as beauty, birth, wealth and intelligence, and presents the beloved's worth as a source of emotional consolation. The sonnet concludes with the speaker expressing happiness in the prospect of the beloved's continued good fortune.

Text license: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

Details

Type

Book

Release date

January 1, 1840

Created by

William Shakespeare