Sonnet 66 in
Shakespeare's sonnet sequence is very unique; it is perhaps the best example of his use of
"one-line units in the sonnets" (Vendler, 310). Each line contains a
single description of either one person, or the relationship between two people,
"master and slave," or victim and victimizer (Vendler, 308). This is clear
through his use of "and." At first glance, it is tiresome to read; the
"and this, and that" tone becomes very monotonous. But as we look closer
at the sonnet, and begin to dissect exactly what he is expressing, the meaning becomes
more important than the sound, making the poem come alive, and leading the reader to a
genuine feeling of pain or sadness for the speaker.
Tired with all what? The first line of the sonnet cries
out that "these" are driving the speaker to dream of restful death.
"These" are carefully mapped out in the following eleven lines;
"these" are in "the allegorical procession of social crimes" that is
about to pass us by (Vendler, 309). Someone of worth files by dressed in
"beggar's robes" in line two. And he is followed, in line three, by a
worthless person putting on heirs. In the fourth line, we see faith betrayed.
Next, in line five, we see a man not worthy of the honor he has been given. A girl
who has been "rudely strumpeted" is followed by a moral person in line seven who
has been debased. But, there is no further discussion than that. So, we do not
know who is responsible for these wrong doings. Beginning in line eight, each person
that has been wrongfully degraded is paired with the one responsible for the social
crime. We see that strength has been taken from sway, and now sway limps. Line
nine describes how authority is stifling art, and in line ten the speaker tells us that
"skill would excel except that the docti, or learned fools, control it
institutionally" (Vendler, 310). The master in line eleven is borrowed from
line ten. The docti has labeled truth naive, thus not allowing simple truth to
prevail (Vendler, 310). In the last line of the quatrain, the speaker puts the fear in all
of us. With a "this could happen to you" tone, he points out that
"any deserving, rightly perfect, good, virtuous, faithful, honorable, strong,
skillful, and truthful person will soon find himself caught by one of the victimizers, or
how he puts it, "captain ill."
The Couplet Tie is "tired with all these" and
"death" (or the verb form "die" in line fourteen). This
repetition is almost anticlimatic, but can also be viewed as forceful. The entire
sonnet seems to hinge on repetition as its main source of intensity. This may seem
dull; however, Shakespeare uses repetition sparingly throughout his sonnets so when he
does use it, it becomes more meaningful than it would be considered under usual
circumstances.
"The stanza is just long enough to permit a fairly
complex lyric development, yet so short and so exigent in its rhymes as to pose a standing
challenge to the artistry of the poet" (Abrams, 198). Understanding this helps
to accept the riddle we face when trying to unlock one of Shakespeare's sonnets.
There are two reasons that the speaker gives for telling us all of these things. As
I mentioned before, he is warning us that we could be the victims; we could be
"rudely strumpeted," or we could shamefully misplace our honor. But there
is still one more reason. In the ending couplet, the last person is spoken of as his
love. He would cry out for death, and leave "these" behind. But, he
would at the same time be leaving his love in harm's way. Alone in this terrible
world is not the place anyone would leave their true love.
Where the first half of the sonnet only reflected the
complaints of the speaker, the second half shows us the complaints accompanied by the
accusation. The speaker says, "naming the criminals, J'accuse" (Vendler,
308). With great regard to its speech-acts--sorrow followed by resolve--this poem
simulates the work we see in sonnet 65.