First Quatrain: “Poor soul, the centre of my sinful earth”
In the first quatrain, the speaker of sonnet 146 directs a question to his soul, that is, his own true self, “Why dost thou pine within and suffer dearth, / Painting thy outward walls so costly gay?” He is metaphorically comparing his physical body to a building.
The speaker is suffering as all mortals suffer, but he is aware that inwardly he is an immortal soul, and therefore, he finds it difficult to understand why he allows himself to be “fool’d by these rebel powers that thee array,” or fooled by the temptations of the physical body.
Second Quatrain: “Why so large cost, having so short a lease”
The speaker poses another question with a similar theme: why bother with a clod of clay in which the soul will remain for only a short while? Why spend time, effort, treasure on things for the body, which “worms, inheritors of this excess” will soon feast upon?
The speaker has grown weary of the constant care and adornment of the body, especially the procurement of elegant raiment that serves no purpose and begins to look unsightly when placed upon an aging body. The body is not important; only the soul is essential, and the speaker wants to follow and drive home the precepts that accompany this realization.
Third Quatrain: “Then soul, live thou upon thy servant’s loss”
Because of the temporary stewardship of the body, the speaker instructs himself to live more inwardly, and let the body learn to live simply and modestly: “Then soul, live thou upon thy servant’s loss, / And let that pine to aggravate thy store.”
He tells himself to meditate on the Divine soul within and pay less attention to the gross outward coat of flesh: “Buy terms divine in selling hours of dross; / Within be fed, without be rich no more.” He needs to be nourished by his spirit and not by his body.
The Couplet: “So shall thou feed on Death, that feeds on men”
If the speaker will meditate on his soul and study the ways of the Divine, he will overcome death. Ordinary men allow death to consume them, but those who contact the soul are able to transcend death, realizing at last the soul is immortal and never dies: “there’s no more dying then.”
This speaker holds for himself a lofty goal, which is a natural outcome from living a life of intense creativity and muse sparring that has always engaged him.
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