Sonnet 117

A detailed Summary of Sonnet 117

In the poem "Accuse me thus: that I have scanted all..." (Sonnet 117) by William Shakespeare, written in 1609, the author lists out charges against him in an almost legal manner. It is unknown whom he is being disloyal to in the sonnet, but the author is letting the reader know of the things that he has done to offend or even anger them. By using such special devices of style as metaphors, the author paints the picture of a man that has been unfaithful and disloyal, but recognizes his acts and still has love.

The sonnet reads like a rap sheet of the author. He lists the things that he has done wrong to show that he fully understands what he has done wrong and the impact of his actions on his relationship. In lines 5 and 6 of the sonnet, it states, "That I have frequent been with the unknown minds and given to time your own dear-purchased right." This means that the poet has been with people for unknown reasons and devoted the time and loyalty that belongs to his love over to them. This right of time belongs to his love because it is the return gift that she gets for giving herself to him. That's why it is so hurting when he devoted it to someone else, someone unimportant even.

The next offense the author mentions is

In the last two lines of the sonnet, lines 13 and 14, it states, "Since my appeal says I did strive to prove the constancy and virtue of your love." Once again Shakespeare is going back to the legal idea of this sonnet by stating the word of appeal. By appeal, the author means his actions. The actions that he has done to his love that have hurt her and that were wrong. What he's saying in these lines is that he has done these actions to prove the strength of their love. That he has tried all these different things, been to all these different places with all these different people and none of it matters compared to her.

1) "Shakespeare Sonnets", 25 February 2001, http://www.shakespeares-sonnets.com/117comm.htm.

Although the sonnet does contain several admissions by the author, nothing really ever gets into detail. What happened when he "set sail"? Who were these people that he had gone off with and gave time and devotion to? What were they like? Shakespeare has left that all up for the reader to decide. As readers, we might think that he has gone off with other women, or men for that matter in some sort of sexual adventure. Or maybe we could think that he just needed to get away from the relationship for a while. It is never told to the reader how the relationship was or how it has been in the past. We only know what he has done wrong and how he feels about it.

As ridiculous as this sounds, it is what the author is stating. In modern day, it sounds like an excuse or a lie. I don't know of one person that would let their boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife get away with that. As readers of the s

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1097
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English