Shakespeare Sonnet 85

‘My tongue-tied Muse in manners holds her still’

Oct 20, 2008

The speaker of all the Shakespeare sonnets has honed a skill in praising his own talent while appearing to remain humble.

In sonnet 85, the speaker/poet virtually lauds his own poems while humbly attributing their worth to the Muse, who remains visibly humble.

First Quatrain: “My tongue-tied Muse in manners holds her still”

The speaker is addressing his sonnet, telling it that its creator remains quiet when others praise it, but he freely admits that the sonnet deserves the “praise, richly compil’d.” The sonnet shines as though written with a pen of golden ink. Not only the Muse of poetry, but also all of the other Muses are filled with pleasure at the valuable sonnets that the speaker has created.

This speaker claims that his Muse is “tongue-tied,” but the sonnet, as usual, demonstrates otherwise. The speaker never allows himself to be tongue-tied, and at times, when he might be struggling to find expression, he merely blames the Muse until he once again takes command of his thoughts, compressing them into his golden sonnets.

Second Quatrain: “I think good thoughts, whilst others write good words”

While the speaker admits that he “think[s] good thoughts,” it is the critics who “write good words” about his sonnets. He cannot take credit for their brilliance in exposing what a gifted writer he is. And thus, while he certainly agrees with those “good words,” he can blush outwardly while inwardly “cry[ing] ‘Amen’.”

The speaker then emphasizes the soul force of his writing by referring to his sonnet as a “hymn.” And to every one of them, he owes his fame, praise, and recognition. He would heartily agree that he writes, “In polish’d form of well-refined pen.” By separating his ego from the sonnet and the process, he can remain humble while still agreeing that he deserves all the praise his sonnets attract.

Third Quatrain: “Hearing you prais’d, I say ‘’Tis so, ’tis true,’”

The speaker then tells his sonnet that when he hears it praised, he says, “’Tis so, ’tis true.” But then he also has something further to express regarding that praise; he would have to add some deprecating thought in order not to come off as a braggadocio.

Because the speaker’s foremost thought is always the love he puts into his sonnets, whatever his casual remarks tend to be, he knows that those remarks are much less important than those written into the sonnet. The sonnet represents his soul force, not the conversational small talk that results from responding to those who praise his work.

The Couplet: “Then others for the breath of words respect”

While others praise his sonnets for their clever craft with words, the speaker feels that his thoughts that remain unspoken but yet exist as the sonnet are the ones that do the true speaking for him.

The copyright of the article Shakespeare Sonnet 85 in British Poetry is owned by Linda Sue Grimes. Permission to republish Shakespeare Sonnet 85 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.