In sonnet 39, the speaker dramatizes a division between himself and his poem, in order to think lovingly about the value of the poem without slipping into solipsism.
First Quatrain: “O! how thy worth with manners may I sing”
In the first quatrain of Shakespeare Sonnet 39, the speaker questions the poem, asking how he (the speaker) can portray the value of the poem “When thou art all the better part of me?” If he dares boast about the poem’s worth, he will simply be praising himself, because the poem comes from his “better part,” which is his invaluable and unique talent.
The next lines—“What can mine own praise to mine own self bring? / And what is ’t but mine own when I praise thee?”—obviously reiterate the question. Would he not sound like a pathetic braggart, if he praises his own work?
Second Quatrain: “Even for this let us divided live”
The speaker then drives a wedge between himself and his creation, claiming that if there is at least a slight separation between the creator and his creation, the speaker can then give all the credit to the creation without seeming to be praising himself.
As a poet, this speaker wishes to acknowledge the value of his works, but he knows that any hint of praise for his own creation would seem improper. He loves his work, and he does not want to taint it by even the appearance of self-absorption.
Anyone who has observed the solipsistic tendencies of some artists realizes the ugly display that such braggadocio engenders.
Third Quatrain: “O absence! what a torment wouldst thou prove”
In the third quatrain, the speaker becomes quite dramatic as he addresses the separation of himself from his work: “O absence! what a torment wouldst thou prove.”
If his absence from his unity with his poetry were factual, it would actually “torment” the speaker, but the “sour leisure” or temporary hiatus from the true unity merely affords the speaker a respite to contemplate the true love that ties him as artist to his art.
So the supposed separation between artist and his creation is deceptive, yet the interval between the idea of unity and disunity provides a period for sweet thoughts of the love that binds them.
The Couplet: “And that thou teachest how to make one twain”
Not only does the “absence” provide that respite, but it also “teachest how to make one twain.” The speaker is free to think lovingly of his art for the brief time that they are separate, because during that interval only the poem remains. The speaker has taken himself out of the equation, if only for a brief moment, and if only in theory.
Other articles on Shakespeare: Who is Shakespeare?
Sonnet Commentaries: 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, Sonnet 16, Sonnet 17, Sonnet 18, Sonnet 19, Sonnet 20, Sonnet 21, Sonnet 22, Sonnet 23, Sonnet 24, Sonnet 25, Sonnet 26, Sonnet 27, Sonnet 28, Sonnet 29, Sonnet 30, Sonnet 31, Sonnet 32, Sonnet 33, Sonnet 34, Sonnet 35, Sonnet 36, Sonnet 37, Sonnet 38, Sonnet 39, Sonnet 73, Sonnet 116, Sonnet 126, Sonnet 130, Sonnet 138
