Sonnet 88: When Thou Shalt Be Disposed to Set Me Light
Sonnet 88: When Thou Shalt Be Disposed to Set Me Light - meaning Summary
Self-sacrificing Loyalty
The speaker offers to undermine his own reputation so the beloved appears virtuous. He will confess or emphasize his faults, fight on the beloved’s side, and accept wrongs to magnify the beloved’s glory. This self-erasing loyalty frames love as paradoxical gain: by harming himself he believes he can advantage both the beloved and, perversely, his own devotion. The poem explores unconditional devotion, sacrifice, and the ambiguous power dynamics in intimate relationships.
Read Complete AnalysesWhen thou shalt be disposed to set me light And place my merit in the eye of scorn, Upon thy side, against myself I’ll fight, And prove thee virtuous, though thou art forsworn. With mine own weakness being best acquainted, Upon thy part I can set down a story Of faults concealed, wherein I am attainted, That thou in losing me shalt win much glory. And I by this will be a gainer too; For bending all my loving thoughts on thee, The injuries that to myself I do, Doing thee vantage, double-vantage me. Such is my love, to thee I so belong, That for thy right, myself will bear all wrong.
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