Sonnet 44

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SONNET 44

by William Shakespeare

If the dull substance of my flesh were thought,
Injurious distance should not stop my way,
For then, despite of space, I would be brought
From limits far remote, where thou dost stay.
No matter then although my foot did stand
Upon the farthest earth removed from thee,
For nimble thought can jump both sea and land
As soon as think the place where he would be.
But, ah, thought kills me that I am not thought,
To leap large lengths of miles when thou art gone,
But that, so much of earth and water wrought,
I must attend time’s leisure with my moan;
 Receiving nought by elements so slow
 But heavy tears, badges of either’s woe.

_____________________

Shakespeare’s famous sonnet is 14 lines (as all sonnets are), in iambic pentameter, with an ABAB, CDCD, AEAE, FF rhyme scheme.

Shakespeare uses alliteration in lines 3-4 (“for,” “from,” “far,” and in Line 10 (“leap large lengths”). He utilizes the poetic art of allusion, referring to “elements” in line 13, which are intended to lead the Reader to think of the Four Elements – especially after referring to both earth and water by name already. The Bard also utilizes my favorite poetry technique – enjambment – in lines 3-4 and in 9-10.

Sonnet 44 is a companion of Sonnet 45, as the next picks up on a thought already in motion here. The two sonnets discuss the four elements (earth, water, air, and fire) with this one covering earth and water, the elements of both the world and the Speaker’s body. This poem is among those addressed to the Fair Youth and the subject of the sonnet centers on the Speaker’s separation from the fair youth and sadness associated with that separation.

Lines 1 through 4:

If the dull substance of my flesh were thought,
Injurious distance should not stop my way,
For then, despite of space, I would be brought
From limits far remote, where thou dost stay.

The Speaker here imagines an alternative reality where his thoughts could traverse distance, unhindered by the limitations of his body. One wonders what he would think of cell phones and the internet? The Speaker’s dreams are not achievable in his own time, though.

Lines 5 through 8:

No matter then although my foot did stand
Upon the farthest earth removed from thee,
For nimble thought can jump both sea and land
As soon as think the place where he would be.

The Speaker’s fantasy continues, and is expanded upon, in these lines. The expressions of longing, from the Speaker, are less relatable than they once were. In the span of the last few decades, it no longer matters where one’s “foot did stand” because no place on Earth is unconnected by thought. Nimble thought can jump from continent to continent and land as soon as think the place (or dial the number / connect on Facetime / etc.)

Lines 9 through 12:

But, ah, thought kills me that I am not thought,
To leap large lengths of miles when thou art gone,
But that, so much of earth and water wrought,
I must attend time’s leisure with my moan;

In Line 9, thought turns from a positive to a negative. Instead of delivering the Speaker to the place he longs to be, “thought” kills him instead. He thinks about how he is not thought, and how he cannot instantaneously be with the one he misses, and thus thought causes him pain.

In lines 11 and 12, the Speaker introduces two of the four elements – earth and water. Those two elements exist in abundance and they are what separates the Speaker and his Fair Youth. Line 11 is also written such that earth and water are descriptive of the Speaker himself. He has longed throughout the sonnet to be thought, unhindered by a heavy body. Earth and water are the heaviest of the four elements so they make a fitting description of what comprises someone who feels trapped.

Lines 13 and 14:

 Receiving nought by elements so slow
 But heavy tears, badges of either’s woe.

The Speaker concludes by stating that the only thing he receives from the two elements mentioned are heavy tears. The sonnet ends with the image of a man weighed down and sorrowful.

The emotion of longing, and frustration over distance and travel, is a staple of art, especially poetry and music. Sonnet 44 brings to my mind this classic song (embedded below) by Oleta Adams.