The speaker in Sonnet 23 reveals that human failures have caused his lack of skill in professing love; thus, he hopes his writing skill will properly portray his heart.
First Quatrain: “As an unperfect actor on the stage”
In the first quatrain, the speaker asserts that he is like a fearful actor on a stage who has difficulty with his lines because of stage fright. But he also resembles “some fierce thing” that is weakened because of rage.
He is portraying the timidity and emotion that prevent him from expressing the love that he feels. It is quite fitting that a playwright and theatre worker would use the “actor” to portray his feelings.
Second Quatrain: “So I, for fear of trust, forget to say”
The speaker then asserts that for “fear of trust” he is unable to speak the necessary words for the “ceremony of love’s rite.” He claims that the intensity of his love seems “to decay” under its own strength. The reader will easily recognize the speaker’s predicament.
When emotion is strong, it sometimes limits logical responses. Fear especially restricts the ability to act as one needs. The speaker frames his claim noting that his strong love overcomes that love’s own power.
Third Quatrain: “O! let my books be then the eloquence”
Because of his inability to speak aloud eloquently, the speaker asks, prayerlike, that his writing, his “books be then the eloquence / And dumb presagers of my speaking breast.” What is in his heart is more important than what his tongue is capable of, he insists.
As readers have seen in the other sonnets that comprise this group, the speaker is well aware of his talent for composing poetry. So it is hardly unusual that this speaker would call on his talent to help him overcome his human frailties in expressing his emotion.
Couplet: “O! learn to read what silent love hath writ”
In the couplet, the speaker addresses his future readers, admonishing them to “learn to read what silent love hath writ: / To hear with eyes belongs to love’s fine wit.” By reading the speaker’s words, which portray a silent eloquence, the reader can enjoy his fine portrayals of love.
The speaker desires so much to express the love that is in his heart, and his command to readers that they become skillful in reading poetry once again dramatizes the importance this speaker places on his art and his certainty that his art will express his feelings, even if his physical tongue is overcome by his strong emotion.
Other Shakespeare articles:
Sonnet 1, Sonnet 2, Sonnet 3, Sonnet 4, Sonnet 5, Sonnet 6, Sonnet 7, Sonnet 8, Sonnet 9, Sonnet 10, Sonnet 11, Sonnet 12, Sonnet 13, Sonnet 14, Sonnet 15, Shakespeare Sonnet 16, Sonnet 17, Sonnet 18, Sonnet 19, Sonnet 20, Sonnet 21, Sonnet 22, Sonnet 116, Sonnet 126, Sonnet 130, Sonnet 138
New Poll: Poetic Season
Each season has its special qualities, and poets have addressed those qualities in poems. Of the four seasons, which one do you think offers the best material for poetry? In other words, which do you think is the most poetic season?
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
- Winter
- They are all equally poetic
The poll is located below the blog on the Poetry homepage.
