Sonnet 49: Against That Time, If Ever That Time Come
Sonnet 49: Against That Time, If Ever That Time Come - form Summary
A Sonnet's Defensive Turn
This sonnet frames its argument as a formal defensive move: the speaker anticipates a future moment when a beloved will judge or withdraw love, and arranges a preemptive self-exculpation. Legal and accounting metaphors—"audit," "laws," "reasons"—structure the poem’s logic, allowing the speaker to concede the beloved’s right to leave while protecting his own honor. The octave’s hypothetical sets up a resigned, rationalized sestet conclusion.
Read Complete AnalysesAgainst that time, if ever that time come, When I shall see thee frown on my defects, When as thy love hath cast his utmost sum, Called to that audit by advised respects; Against that time when thou shalt strangely pass, And scarcely greet me with that sun, thine eye, When love, converted from the thing it was, Shall reasons find of settled gravity Against that time do I ensconce me here Within the knowledge of mine own desart, And this my hand, against myself uprear, To guard the lawful reasons on thy part. To leave poor me thou hast the strength of laws, Since why to love I can allege no cause.
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