The Sonnets and Other Poems (34 page)

⁵⁷¹
gave over
given up   

⁵⁷³
Foul
harsh, unkind   

⁵⁷⁴
rose … plucked
like lock-picking, a standard image of (female) virginity loss   

⁵⁷⁵
fast
safe, secure   

⁵⁸⁰
look well to
take good care of   

⁵⁸¹
Cupid
the Roman god of love was Venus’ son; he caused people to fall in love by firing arrows at them   

protest
declare   

⁵⁸³
waste
spend   

⁵⁸⁴
watch
remain awake   

⁵⁸⁶
make the match
agree to the assignation, appoint a rendezvous (
match
plays on sense of “sexual encounter”)   

⁵⁹⁰
lawn
fine white linen/alternative name for the plant “hound’s tongue” or “Venus’ navelwort”   

⁵⁹²
yoking
fastening around the neck/subduing   

⁵⁹⁵
lists
official enclosure in which tournaments were held (possibly plays on sense of “list” as “pleasure/appetite”)   

⁵⁹⁶
champion
opponent/one who fights on her behalf   

mounted
on horseback, i.e. on top of her   

hot encounter
spirited fight/lustful sexual encounter   

⁵⁹⁷
prove
discover   

⁵⁹⁸
manage
take a horse through a series of exercises/handle sexually, “ride”   

⁵⁹⁹
That
so that   

Tantalus
in Greek mythology, a king who stole from the gods and was condemned to stand in a pool below a fruit tree that remained just out of his reach   

⁶⁰⁰
clip
embrace   

Elysium
the heaven of classical mythology   

⁶⁰¹
painted grapes
refers to Pliny’s account of Zeuxis the painter, apparently so skillful that birds mistook his painted grapes for real ones   

⁶⁰²
pine the maw
starve the stomach   

⁶⁰³
mishaps
misfortunes   

⁶⁰⁴
helpless
useless   

⁶⁰⁵
warm effects
sexual feelings and arousal   

⁶⁰⁸
assayed
attempted   

proved
demonstrated, achieved   

⁶¹¹
Fie
expression of impatience or disgust   

⁶¹³
hadst
would have   

⁶¹⁵
advised
warned   

⁶¹⁶
churlish
rough, violent   

⁶¹⁷
tushes
tusks   

whetteth still
sharpens continually   

⁶¹⁸
mortal
death-dealing   

bent
determined (referring to the butcher)/curved (referring to the tusks)   

⁶¹⁹
bow-back
arched back   

battle
battalion in full array   

⁶²⁰
pikes
spines (maintains the image of armed troops by playing on sense of “long-handled weapons with pointed steel heads”)   

⁶²¹
fret
rage   

⁶²²
sepulchres
tombs   

⁶²³
moved
angered/forced to leave his lair (hunting term)   

⁶²⁵
brawny
covered with hardened skin, unfeeling   

⁶²⁶
proof
armor   

⁶²⁸
ireful
angry   

venture
dare to attack   

⁶³²
tributary
i.e. submissive (a tributary pays homage to his conqueror)   

⁶³³
eyne
eyes   

⁶³⁵
vantage
his advantage   

⁶³⁶
root
dig up, destroy   

mead
meadow   

⁶³⁷
cabin
lair   

⁶³⁸
foul
wicked   

⁶³⁹
will
wish, intention   

⁶⁴¹
not to dissemble
I won’t lie   

⁶⁴⁵
downright
straight down/straightaway   

⁶⁴⁷
boding
foreboding, fearful   

⁶⁴⁹
jealousy
anxious care for another’s safety   

⁶⁵⁰
sentinel
guard, lookout   

⁶⁵¹
suggesteth
incites   

⁶⁵³
Distemp’ring
disturbing the natural constitution of/diluting with water   

⁶⁵⁴
abate
put out   

⁶⁵⁵
bate-breeding
strife-producing   

⁶⁵⁶
canker
parasitic grub that destroys plants   

tender spring
youthful growth   

⁶⁵⁷
carry-tale
rumormonger, telltale   

dissentious
quarrelsome   

⁶⁶¹
so
that   

⁶⁶³
his
i.e. Adonis’   

⁶⁶⁷
indeed
in reality   

⁶⁶⁸
That
I who   

⁶⁷⁰
divination
prophetic insight   

⁶⁷³
needs wilt
must   

⁶⁷⁴
Uncouple
release your dogs   

flying
fleeing   

⁶⁷⁵
subtlety
cunning   

⁶⁷⁶
roe
species of small timid deer   

encounter
fight   

⁶⁷⁸
well-breathed
fit, not out of breath   

⁶⁷⁹
on foot
in pursuit   

purblind
dimly sighted (which hares were thought to be)   

⁶⁸⁰
overshoot
outstrip, overtake   

⁶⁸²
cranks and crosses
twists and turns about and crosses backward and forward   

doubles
sharp turns   

⁶⁸³
musets
gaps in hedges and fences/hares’ lairs   

⁶⁸⁴
amaze
confuse   

⁶⁸⁶
cunning
well-trained/crafty   

⁶⁸⁷
earth-delving conies
burrowing rabbits   

keep
live   

⁶⁸⁹
sorteth
mixes   

⁶⁹⁰
shifts
stratagems   

waits on
attends   

⁶⁹⁴
ado
fuss, difficulty   

cold fault
point at which they lost the scent   

⁶⁹⁵
spend their mouths
bark loudly   

echo
in Greek mythology, Echo was the nymph who loved self-obsessed Narcissus and pined away on his account until only her voice was left   

⁶⁹⁷
Wat
common name for a hare   

⁷⁰⁰
alarums
sounds of their approach   

⁷⁰²
sore
grievously   

passing-bell
bell tolling for the souls of the dead   

⁷⁰³
dew-bedabbled
made wet by the dew   

⁷⁰⁴
return
turn again/turn back   

indenting
zigzagging   

⁷⁰⁵
envious
malicious   

⁷⁰⁸
relieved
helped   

⁷¹²
Unlike myself
i.e. contrary to my usual behavior as the goddess of love   

moralize
explain the moral meaning   

⁷¹⁵
leave
break off   

⁷¹⁶
aptly
promptly, readily   

⁷¹⁸
of
by   

⁷²⁴
true
honest   

⁷²⁵
modest Dian
i.e. Diana, Roman goddess of chastity (modesty), the moon, and hunting   

⁷²⁶
forsworn
having broken her vow (of chastity)   

⁷²⁷
of … reason
I see the reason for the darkness of the night   

⁷²⁸
Cynthia
the Greek name for Diana   

⁷²⁹
forging
counterfeiting   

⁷³¹
framed
created, shaped   

high heaven’s despite
defiance of heaven   

⁷³³
destinies
in Greek mythology, the three Fates were also known as “Destinies”: one spun the thread of a man’s life, another measured it, and the third cut it   

⁷³⁴
cross
thwart, oppose   

curious
ingenious, beautifully fashioned   

⁷³⁶
defeature
disfigurement   

⁷³⁸
mischances
misfortunes, disasters   

⁷³⁹
agues
acute fevers   

⁷⁴⁰
pestilence
plague   

wood
mad   

⁷⁴¹
marrow-eating sickness
syphilis (which corrodes the bones)   

attaint
infection   

⁷⁴²
Disorder
disturbance of bodily balance/(sexual) misdemeanors   

blood
sexual desire   

⁷⁴³
Surfeits
digestive disorders resulting from excessive eating or drinking   

impostumes
abscesses   

⁷⁴⁷
favour
facial features   

savour
sweet scent   

hue
complexion   

⁷⁵¹
fruitless
childless/ useless   

⁷⁵²
vestals
virgins (specifically the priestesses who guarded the sacred fire of the temple of Vesta in Rome)   

self-loving
i.e. not giving their love to a man/selfish because producing no children   

⁷⁵⁴
dearth
famine   

⁷⁵⁵
prodigal
extravagant   

⁷⁵⁶
oil
with connotations of semen (
burns
then refers to sexual heat)   

⁷⁶⁰
destroy … obscurity
also alludes to masturbation   

⁷⁶²
Sith
since   

pride
arrogance, self-love/state of (masturbatory) phallic erection   

slain
picking up on the sexual sense of “to die” (“to orgasm”)   

⁷⁶³
made away
murdered   

⁷⁶⁴
mischief
calamity/evildoing   

⁷⁶⁵
whose … slay
who commit suicide (but continues the play on masturbation)   

desperate
spiritually hopeless (the state that preceded suicide)   

⁷⁶⁶
butcher-sire
murdering father   

reaves
deprives   

⁷⁶⁷
Foul-cank’ring
discoloring and corroding   

treasure
plays on sense of “semen”   

frets
erodes, decays   

⁷⁶⁸
put to use
loaned out with interest/employed sexually   

⁷⁶⁹
fall
return (plays on the notion of Venus’ literal fall and on sense of sexual succumbing)   

⁷⁷⁰
over-handled
too commonly treated (with sexual connotations)   

⁷⁷³
foul
wicked, immoral/dirty, black   

⁷⁷⁴
treatise
tale, talk   

⁷⁷⁶
moving
persuasive (also suggests busy literal motion)