Sonnet 135 and 136

[Harry]

I'm going to post both sonnets here. They are so strongly linked that I believe this makes sense.

Sonnet 135

Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy 'Will,'
And 'Will' to boot, and 'Will' in over-plus;
More than enough am I that vex'd thee still,
To thy sweet will making addition thus.
Wilt thou, whose will is large and spacious,
Not once vouchsafe to hide my will in thine?
Shall will in others seem right gracious,
And in my will no fair acceptance shine?
The sea, all water, yet receives rain still,
And in abundance addeth to his store;
So thou, being rich in 'Will,' add to thy 'Will'
One will of mine, to make thy large will more.
Let no unkind 'No' fair beseechers kill;
Think all but one, and me in that one 'Will.'

Sonnet 136

If thy soul check thee that I come so near,
Swear to thy blind soul that I was thy 'Will',
And will, thy soul knows, is admitted there;
Thus far for love, my love-suit, sweet, fulfil.
'Will', will fulfil the treasure of thy love,
Ay, fill it full with wills, and my will one.
In things of great receipt with ease we prove
Among a number one is reckon'd none:
Then in the number let me pass untold,
Though in thy store's account I one must be;
For nothing hold me, so it please thee hold
That nothing me, a something sweet to thee:
Make but my name thy love, and love that still,
And then thou lov'st me for my name is 'Will.'

This is Shakespeare in a much more playful mood. Bawdy and witty with none of the disgust expressed in some of the earlier Dark Lady sonnets. These two sonnets play on the many meanings of "will." G.B. Evans lists the following different usages of "will" in these two sonnets:

1. "wish, desire, choice, intent (in both noun and associated verb forms), willfulness"

2. "carnal desire, lust"

3. "shall"

4. "penis"

5. "vagina"

6. "the Christian name Will(iam)"

It's rather a powerful word that can express both male and female sex organs. The many meanings play off one another so that each usage can be defined in multiple ways. The first usage (line 1 of Sonnet 135), for example, makes sense as all usages. Apparently, scholars even argue as to how many Williams may be involved. If the Youth of the sonnets is Mr. W.H. of the dedication (and I prefer Foster's identification of Mr. W.H. as a misprint for Mr. W.SH.), then the "Will" of the first line could be either or both men. There are scholars who argue for at least three Williams. It's all delightfully ambiguous. Pick a line and pick a reading--you can't be far wrong.

The final line of Sonnet 136 contains the closest thing I've ever seen to an actual "signature" in a work by Shakespeare--"my name is 'Will." If this were a just world, then all those who claim Shakespeare's name was really Ed(ward DeVere), Frank(Francis Bacon), or Kit(Christopher Marlowe) would go away.

Anyway, have fun with these. It's sonnets like these that make me think that what we have are a bunch of poetic puzzles Shakespeare set for his friends.

[Ganymede]

In the other sonnets, Shakespeare seems angry at the Dark Lady's lascivious nature, but in these, he is playful. He understands the Dark Lady has "been around the block." All he's asking for is a piece of the pie, so to speak. There's room enough for him. Take that however you'd like.

"In things of great receipt with ease we prove
Among a number one is reckon'd none:
Then in the number let me pass untold,
Though in thy store's account I one must be;"

His argument is interesting, and not very flattering to the Dark Lady. He will be one of many and therefore would matter little, considering the long line of "wills" the Dark Lady has already had. She has no reason to play coy with him at this point.

"For nothing hold me, so it please thee hold
That nothing me, a something sweet to thee:"

Note the use of the word "nothing" here. I shouldn't have to explain its alternate meanings.

"Make but my name thy love, and love that still,
And then thou lov'st me for my name is 'Will.' "

Perhaps Shakespeare is suggesting that if the Dark Lady can't love him for HIM, then she can love him for his "Will." The Dark Lady appears to love sex-- in sex, she can therefore love "Will."

These sonnets are interesting because they very carefully and thoroughly illustrate the different stages of love and lust-- including doubt, self-hatred, paradoxical hatred for the beloved, jealousy, and alternately celebration, arousal, joy, playfulness, etc. They are like puzzle pieces in that after reading each, we can ask, what stage is he describing now? What was he feeling when he wrote this? How does this fit into his love life? Although we may never see the complete puzzle, the pieces are so rich as individual pieces and are very rewarding reads on their own.