Sonnet · Fair Youth Sonnets

Sonnet 89

Say that thou didst forsake me for some fault,

And I will comment upon that offence:

Speak of my lameness, and I straight will halt,

Against thy reasons making no defence.

Thou canst not love disgrace me half so ill,

To set a form upon desired change,

As I’ll myself disgrace; knowing thy will,

I will acquaintance strangle, and look strange;

Be absent from thy walks; and in my tongue

Thy sweet beloved name no more shall dwell,

Lest I, too much profane, should do it wrong,

And haply of our old acquaintance tell.

For thee, against my self I’ll vow debate,

For I must ne’er love him whom thou dost hate.

What it's about

The speaker offers total, self-destructive surrender to the young man's will. Rather than fight or defend himself, he volunteers for complete humiliation—erasing his own identity and severing all public connection to the beloved. It's a portrait of love as annihilation.

In plain English

Tell me you left me because I did something wrong, and I'll accept your judgment without argument. You could shame me less than I'll shame myself. I'll act like a stranger to you, avoid your company, and stop saying your name aloud—afraid that speaking it too often might cheapen it or let slip some secret about our past.

I'll turn myself against me for your sake. I have to, because I can't love anyone you hate. It's the price of devotion: self-erasure.

Lines that stick

  • Against thy reasons making no defence
  • I will acquaintance strangle, and look strange
  • For I must ne'er love him whom thou dost hate

Themes

  • love
  • self-betrayal
  • devotion
  • shame
  • absence
In the app

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