Department of English

Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University


Sonnet CXXXVIII

(1609)

 

William Shakespeare

(1564–1616)

 

When my love swears that she is made of truth,
I do believe her, though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutored youth,
Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties.
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, 5
Although she knows my days are past the best,
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue:
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed.
But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
And wherefore say not I that I am old? 10
Oh, love’s best habit is in seeming trust,
And age in love loves not to have years told.
    Therefore I lie with her and she with me,
    And in our faults by lies we flattered be.

 

Sonnet CXXXVIII Notes

1  made of truth: faithful, truthful; note pun on the word made which sounds like maid which suggests a virginal or virtuous girl


5  vainly:


7  simply:

 

11  habit: something one is used to doing; garment, clothing, dress

 

13  lie: to speak falsehood to; to have sexual intercourse with

 

Paraphrase of the sonnet (line by line)

When my love swears that she is made of truth, a 1 When my lover says that she is faithful
I do believe her, though I know she lies, b 2 I believe her even though I know that she is lying
That she might think me some untutored youth, a 3 so that she will think that I'm young and inexperienced,
Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties. b 4 not knowing about the world's trickiness.
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, c 5 So, in tricking myself into thinking that she thinks that I am young,
Although she knows my days are past the best, d 6 even though she knows that I am not young,
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue: c 7 I easily make her lies into something true;
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed. d 8 this, then, is how both of us cover up simple truth.
But wherefore says she not she is unjust? e 9 But why doesn't she say that she is unfaithful?
And wherefore say not I that I am old? f 10 And why don't I say that I am old?
Oh, love’s best habit is in seeming trust, e 11 Ah, love likes very much to pretend to believe
And age in love loves not to have years told. f 12 and an old person in love doesn't like to be reminded how old he/she is.
    Therefore I lie with her and she with me, g 13 So I tell her lies and have sex with her and she tells me lies and has sex with me,
    And in our faults by lies we flattered be. g 14 and, even though we are flawed, we are happy because of lies.

 

Paraphrase of the sonnet (variations for discussion)

Paraphrase 1:

When my lover insists that she is faithful, I believe her although I know that she is lying so that she'll think I'm young and naive and know nothing about the various insincerities of the world. So, in tricking myself into a self-gratifying belief that my lover thinks I am young (although she really knows I am not so young), I easily make her lies true. This, then, is how the both of us cover up simple truth. But why doesn't she just say that she is unfaithful? And why don't I just say that I am old? Ah, it is because love is most often cloaked in pretense and very used to faking innocent belief, and an old person in love doesn't like to be reminded of his/her age. And so I tell my lover lies and sleep with her and she tells me lies and sleeps with me, and we are both made happy, despite our flaws, by these lies.


Paraphrase 2:

When my lover strongly claims that she is true, I do believe her (even though I know she is lying and sleeping around) so that she will think that I am an innocent young person who does not know yet about the world's complex deceptions. By pointlessly thinking that she thinks I am young since she knows that I am no longer in my prime, I basically give weight to her lies, and in this way straight truth on both sides is held back. But why does she not say that she is insincere? And why do I not say that I am old? Oh, it is because love most usually appears trusty and old people who are in love do not like to be told that they are old. Consequently, she and are insincere and have sex with each other, and we are pleased in our flaws by not telling the truth and by having sex.

 

Paraphrase of the sonnet (variations for discussion)

When my love swears that she is made of truth,

a

1

When my lover says that she is faithful

When my lover insists that she is true to me

I do believe her, though I know she lies,

b

2

I believe her even though I know that she is lying

I believe what she says although I know she's lying

That she might think me some untutored youth,

a

3

so that she will think that I'm young and inexperienced,

so that she'd think I'm a naive boy

Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties.

b

4

not knowing about the world's trickiness.

inexperienced with the sophisticated deceptions in the world.

Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,

c

5

So, in tricking myself into thinking that she thinks that I am young,

So, in uselessly tricking myself into the conceited belief that she thinks I'm young

Although she knows my days are past the best,

d

6

even though she knows that I am not young,

(when she knows perfectly well that I am not so)

Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue:

c

7

I easily make her lies into something true;

I'm easily turning her falsity into a true and valid thing;

On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed.

d

8

this, then, is how both of us cover up simple truth.

so this is how we both stifle simple truth.

But wherefore says she not she is unjust?

e

9

But why doesn't she say that she is unfaithful?

Why though doesn't she come out and tell me she is not being true to me?

And wherefore say not I that I am old?

f

10

And why don't I say that I am old?

And why don't I also just admit that I am old?

Oh, love’s best habit is in seeming trust,

e

11

Ah, love likes very much to pretend to believe

Alas, love is best shown in a semblance of fidelity

Alas, love works best if it pretends to be innocent

Love is most used to appearing to be trusting

And age in love loves not to have years told.

f

12

and an old person in love doesn't like to be reminded how old he/she is.

and an old person who is in love doesn't like to think about how old he really is

    Therefore I lie with her and she with me,

g

13

So I tell her lies and have sex with her and she tells me lies and has sex with me,

This is why I pretend with her and she with me as we sleep together

    And in our faults by lies we flattered be.

g

14

and, even though we are flawed, we are happy because of lies.

because the lies allow us to feel good despite our imperfections.

because the lies give our defective selves gratification.

 

 


 

Vocabulary

Shakespearean sonnet
stanza
quatrain
couplet
volta
diction; connotation, denotation
word play
pun
double entendre
imagery

foot
meter
line
iambic pentameter
line break
repetition
chiasmus
caesura
rhyme scheme
rhyme

rhythm
alliteration

consonance

assonance
tone
voice
theme
love
age
fidelity
lies
truth
cynicism
language
performance
creativity
identity



 

Sample Student Responses to Shakespeare's Sonnet 138


Response 1:


 

 

 

 

 

Student Name

2202242 Introduction to the Study of English Poetry

Acharn Puckpan Tipayamontri

July 3, 2009

Reading Response 2

 

Title


Text.

Text.

 

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. "CXXXVIII." The Sonnets of Shakespeare Edited from the Quarto of 1609, 1924, edited by Thomas George Tucker, Cambridge UP, 2009, p. 70.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            

  

 

 

 

Links

Articles


Early Modern English

 


Media
  • "Sonnet 138: Trevor Nunn Coaches David Suchet for Master Class" (10:58 min.)

  • "Understanding Shakespeare's Sonnets," University of Warwick (2009; 37:57 min.)
 

 

William Shakespeare

 

 

 

 

Some books on Shakespeare at Chula

Booth, Stephen. Shakespeare's Sonnets. New Haven: Yale UP, 1977. Print.


Evans, G. Blakemore, ed. The Sonnets. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2006. Print.


 

Further Reading

Crystal, David, and Ben Crystal. Shakespeare's Words: A Glossary and Language Companion. London: Penguin, 2002. Print.

[Arts Reference PR2892 C957S]


Crystal, David. Think on My Words: Exploring Shakespeare's Language. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2008. Print.

[Arts PR3072 C957T 2008]


Edmondson, Paul, and Stanley Wells. Shakespeare's Sonnets. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Print.

[Arts PR2848 E24S]


Kermode, Frank. Shakespeare's Language. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001. Print.

[Arts PR3072 K39S]


Partridge, Eric. Shakespeare's Bawdy. London: Routledge, 2001. Print.

[Arts PR2892 P275S 2001]


Schoenfeldt, Michael, ed. A Companion to Shakespeare's Sonnets. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Print.

[Arts PR2848 C737 2010]


Shakespeare, William. The Sonnets and Narrative Poems. Ed. William Burto. Introd. Helen Vendler. London: D. Campbell, 1992. Print.

[CL 821.3 S527Sn 1992]


Crystal, David. Think on My Words: Exploring Shakespeare's Language. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2008. Print.

          [Arts PR3072 C957T 2008]

Vendler, Helen. The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets. Cambridge: Belknap, 1999. Print.
Shakespeare Quarterly




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Last updated October 29, 2019