Shakespeare Sonnet 76

‘Why is my verse so barren of new pride’

Sep 24, 2008

The speaker in sonnet 76 explores and dramatizes the fact that he always writes about one subject: his writing talent, which he calls his love.

First Quatrain: “Why is my verse so barren of new pride”

In the first quatrain of sonnet 76, the speaker poses two questions: “Why is my verse so barren of new pride / So far from variation or quick change?” He asks why his sonnets are always exploring the same subject and theme, without any variance of notice.

Then he asks his second question: “Why with the time do I not glance aside / To new-found methods and to compounds strange?” He then queries why he never seems to look anywhere for inspiration other than his usual place. He never explores any new ways of expression or any other “compounds strange,” or other topics.

The reader who has examined all of the sonnets from 1 through 75 can well understand the questions. The speaker/writer has used only one form, the sonnet, and while the sonnets are traditionally sectioned into three subject areas by academics, a closer look can reveal that all, indeed, focus on the same general area: the poet’s talent and love of writing.

Second Quatrain: “Why write I still all one, ever the same”

In the second quatrain, the speaker continues with another question, which essentially is a reiteration of the first two. He wonders why his writing is “ever the same.” He never departs from his theme and never attempts to “invent” new subjects matter to dress in a new fashioned way. He “keep[s] invention in a noted weed”—the same subject dressed in the same clothing or sonnet form.

He then says that “every word doth almost tell my name.” This claim accurately reports that fact that an artist’s writing is as unique for identification as a fingerprint. He avers that everything he writes demonstrates the same origin and the same progress.

Third Quatrain: “O! know, sweet love, I always write of you”

Then the speaker addresses his “sweet love” and remarks, “I always write of you.” He adds that “you and love are still my argument.” He dramatically confesses that his one subject is all he cares about, and he spends his time “dressing old words new” and “[s]ending again what is already spent.” He has no qualms about his seeming repetitiveness.

The Couplet: “For as the sun is daily new and old”

The couplet likens his “love” to the sun, which is always the same yet still “daily new.” He tells “what is told” and by the retelling makes his love new. Thus, he is engulfed in ever new joy.

Commentary

This poem attests to the fact that the writer of the Shakespeare sonnets had studied classic rhetoric. He uses the term “invention” which in classical rhetoric is the method for discovering a subject for composition. And he employs the term “argument” which means subject or content.

The copyright of the article Shakespeare Sonnet 76 in British Poetry is owned by Linda Sue Grimes. Permission to republish Shakespeare Sonnet 76 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.