Sonnet 149: Canst Thou, O Cruel, Say I Love Thee Not
Sonnet 149: Canst Thou, O Cruel, Say I Love Thee Not - meaning Summary
Love Despite Self-betrayal
The speaker insists his love is genuine despite the beloved's cruelty and his own self-betrayal. He describes a paradox in which he forgets himself, serves and fawns for the beloved, and punishes himself when scorned. The poem frames devotion as compelled by the beloved’s power — particularly the command of their glance — and ends with bitter acceptance: others see the beloved’s affection while the speaker remains blind to it.
Read Complete AnalysesCanst thou, O cruel, say I love thee not, When I against my self with thee partake? Do I not think on thee when I forgot Am of my self, all tyrant, for thy sake? Who hateth thee that I do call my friend? On whom frown’st thou that I do fawn upon? Nay, if thou lour’st on me, do I not spend Revenge upon my self with present moan? What merit do I in my self respect, That is so proud thy service to despise, When all my best doth worship thy defect, Commanded by the motion of thine eyes? But, love, hate on, for now I know thy mind: Those that can see thou lov’st, and I am blind.
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