Sonnet · Fair Youth Sonnets

Sonnet 110

Alas! ’tis true, I have gone here and there,

And made my self a motley to the view,

Gor’d mine own thoughts, sold cheap what is most dear,

Made old offences of affections new;

Most true it is, that I have look’d on truth

Askance and strangely; but, by all above,

These blenches gave my heart another youth,

And worse essays prov’d thee my best of love.

Now all is done, save what shall have no end:

Mine appetite I never more will grind

On newer proof, to try an older friend,

A god in love, to whom I am confin’d.

Then give me welcome, next my heaven the best,

Even to thy pure and most most loving breast.

What it's about

A confession and a turn. The speaker admits to infidelity and emotional wandering—he's been unfaithful, made himself ridiculous, looked elsewhere. But he's parsing it: those very betrayals taught him that the fair youth is irreplaceable. He's asking not for forgiveness exactly, but for reinstatement. The sonnet moves from shame to clarity to a plea for reunion.

In plain English

I admit it: I've wandered, made a fool of myself in public, betrayed my own heart. I've sold what I value most and dressed up old wrongs as new feelings. I've looked away from what's true, treated you with coldness and distance.

But here's the thing—those betrayals actually renewed me. My worst choices proved that you're what I love best. I'm done now. I won't keep chasing new experiences just to test an old bond. You're a god to me, and I'm yours completely.

So take me back. After heaven itself, you're the best thing I have. Let me rest against your true and loving heart.

Lines that stick

I have gone here and there, / And made my self a motley to the view
These blenches gave my heart another youth, / And worse essays prov'd thee my best of love
A god in love, to whom I am confin'd

Themes

infidelity
faithlessness
reunion
devotion
youth
comparison

Sonnet 110

What it's about

In plain English

Lines that stick

Themes

Tap any word to see it explained.