The speaker is contemplating the unified nature of art and artist. He addresses his talent, personifying it as a lover who has tried to pursue his mistress, the poem.
Can an artist be separated from his art? What is the difference between the artist, the act of creating the art, and the final, created product? Sonnets 30-42 have explored this conundrum.
First Quatrain: “That thou hast her, it is not all my grief”
In the first quatrain, the speaker sets up a scenario of a love triangle. The speaker addresses what seems to be a third party who has stolen or tried to steal the speaker’s mistress: “That thou hast her, it is not all my grief.” But the speaker makes it clear that even if the lover has, indeed, stolen the mistress, the speaker is not devastated by it.
Even though he “lov’d her dearly,” he is more upset that the mistress might return the affection of the intrusive lover, that is, be taken by him. If she is willing to take the third party of the triangle, the speaker is more affected.
Second Quatrain: “Loving offenders, thus I will excuse ye”
Then the speaker addresses the would-be intrusive lover and the supposed mistress, calling them “Loving offenders” but saying he “excuses” them. And he explains why he is being so magnanimous: he knows that the intrusive lover loves his mistress, only because the speaker loves her.
And the mistress’s affection for the intrusive lover is the result of her wishing to keep favor with the speaker.
Such a situation demonstrates that the speaker is not referring to a literal unfaithful mistress and would-be adulterer. The personified concepts stand metaphorically for poem (mistress) and talent, or art and process (would-be stealer of the mistress’s heart).
Third Quatrain: “If I lose thee, my loss is my love’s gain”
The speaker then speculates about the nature of loss, and he decides that if he loses that particular poem, he still wins because he has the ability to create others. If he loses the ability to create others, he would lose both that poem and any future poems he might create. And that loss would indeed result in his having a “cross” to bear.
The Couplet: “But here’s the joy; my friend and I are one”
However, he then triumphantly announces, “here’s the joy; my friend and I are one.” Once again, he reaches the conclusion that he is eternally united with his talent. So since there is no separation between himself and his ability to create poems, he cannot lose either the poem or his talent.
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 40, Sonnet 41, Sonnet 73, Sonnet 96, Sonnet 116, Sonnet 126, Sonnet 130, Sonnet 138
