#sonnet 26

Lady-Lord of my love, to whom in vassalage Thy merit hath my duty strongly knit, To thee I send this written embassage, To witness duty, not to show my wit: Duty so great, which wit so poor as mine May make seem bare, in wanting words to show it, But that I hope some good conceit of thine In thy soul's thought, all naked, will bestow it: Till whatsoever star that guides my moving, Points on me graciously with fair aspect, And puts apparel on my tottered loving, To show me worthy of thy sweet respect:    Then may I dare to boast how I do love thee;    Till then, not show my head where thou mayst prove me.

My first poem I am sending thee, Your Lordyship, together with two portraits of me:

painted by an artist who presents me as twink at your service,

Sonnet 26 by William Shakespeare (read by Sir Patrick Stewart)

Lord of my love, to whom in vassalage Thy merit hath my duty strongly knit, To thee I send this written embassage, To witness duty, not to show my wit:

Duty so great, which wit so poor as mine May make seem bare, in wanting words to show it, But that I hope some good conceit of thine In thy soul's thought, all naked, will bestow it:

Till whatsoever star that guides my moving, Points on me graciously with fair aspect, And puts apparel on my tottered loving, To show me worthy of thy sweet respect:

Sonnet 26 by William Shakespeare (read by Alex Jennings)

Lord of my love, to whom in vassalage Thy merit hath my duty strongly knit, To thee I send this written embassage, To witness duty, not to show my wit:

Duty so great, which wit so poor as mine May make seem bare, in wanting words to show it, But that I hope some good conceit of thine In thy soul's thought, all naked, will bestow it:

Till whatsoever star that guides my moving, Points on me graciously with fair aspect, And puts apparel on my tottered loving, To show me worthy of thy sweet respect:

Then may I dare to boast how I do love thee; Till then, not show my head where thou mayst prove me.

Sonnet 26 by William Shakespeare (read by Jill Gascoine)

Lord of my love, to whom in vassalage Thy merit hath my duty strongly knit, To thee I send this written embassage, To witness duty, not to show my wit:

Duty so great, which wit so poor as mine May make seem bare, in wanting words to show it, But that I hope some good conceit of thine In thy soul's thought, all naked, will bestow it:

Till whatsoever star that guides my moving, Points on me graciously with fair aspect, And puts apparel on my tottered loving, To show me worthy of thy sweet respect:

  Then may I dare to boast how I do love thee;   Till then, not show my head where thou mayst prove me.

Sonnet XXVI

Lord of my love, to whom in vassalage Thy merit hath my duty strongly knit, To thee I send this written embassage, To witness duty, not to show my wit: Duty so great, which wit so poor as mine May make seem bare, in wanting words to show it, But that I hope some good conceit of thine In thy soul's thought, all naked, will bestow it: Till whatsoever star that guides my moving, Points on me graciously with fair aspect, And puts apparel on my tottered loving, To show me worthy of thy sweet respect:   Then may I dare to boast how I do love thee;   Till then, not show my head where thou mayst prove me.

This sonnet has been seen by some as valedictory of 20-25, or even of 1 - 25. Perhaps it may be construed as an envoi to a history of courtly love, such as is typified in the first addresses to the youth. Perhaps its numerical position does have some significance, as it is placed exactly 100 before the sequence devoted to to the youth comes to an end. At any rate it begins in dramatic fashion, with echoes of biblical dimensions (I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt), and it continues with the vocabulary of the submissive vassal in front of his liege lord. The varied rhetorical tropes and figures act as a sort of undersong to the plea of inadequacy, undermining by their very existence the success of the plea. This facet or hidden side of the sonnet one cannot but see as intentional, and it adds a pleasant 'tongue in cheek' sense to the relationship.

Sunday Sonnet – 13 November 2016

https://videopress.com/embed/YvoSyBVA?hd=0&autoPlay=0&permalink=0&loop=0

Shakespeare’s 26th Sonnet, written to the Fair Youth, is not numbered as one of his greatest, but I like it.  Its central metaphor of a vassal professing homage to his Lord is very medieval and feels very much part of the times—Elizabethan times, that is.  Social class was everything. This sonnet can also seem very…

Lord of my love, to whom in vassalage

Thy merit hath my duty strongly knit,

To thee I send this written ambassage

To witness duty, not to show my wit.

Duty so great, which wit so poor as mine

May make seem bare, in wanting words to show it,

But that I hope some good conceit of thine

In thy soul’s thought, all naked, will bestow it ;

Till whatsoever star that guides my moving

Points on me graciously with fair aspect,

And puts apparel on my tottered loving

To show me worthy of thy sweet respect.

Then may I dare to boast how I do love thee ;