Sonnet · Fair Youth Sonnets

Sonnet 109

O! never say that I was false of heart,

Though absence seem’d my flame to qualify,

As easy might I from my self depart

As from my soul which in thy breast doth lie:

That is my home of love: if I have rang’d,

Like him that travels, I return again;

Just to the time, not with the time exchang’d,

So that myself bring water for my stain.

Never believe though in my nature reign’d,

All frailties that besiege all kinds of blood,

That it could so preposterously be stain’d,

To leave for nothing all thy sum of good;

For nothing this wide universe I call,

Save thou, my rose, in it thou art my all.

What it's about

A lover defends himself against the charge of unfaithfulness, arguing that absence proves nothing. His beloved is so fundamental to his identity that betrayal would mean destroying his very self. He swears no weakness of human nature could make him abandon such a treasure.

In plain English

Don't accuse me of being unfaithful just because I've been away. I can't separate from you any more than I can separate from my own soul—you're that essential to me. Yes, I've wandered like a traveler, but I always come back, unchanged and true to what we are.

Even though I'm human and prone to weakness like everyone else, don't think I could ever betray you so completely. Throwing away everything you are for nothing? That's impossible. The whole universe means nothing to me except you—you're my entire world.

Lines that stick

As easy might I from my self depart / As from my soul which in thy breast doth lie
For nothing this wide universe I call, / Save thou, my rose, in it thou art my all

Themes

love
fidelity
absence
identity
devotion

Sonnet 109

What it's about

In plain English

Lines that stick

Themes

Tap any word to see it explained.