Not all were able to woo their unrequited crushes during Valentine’s Day, but there is one man who succeeded in most of his attempts. Whether it be wooing a woman of great beauty or lamenting a cold, harsh rejection, William Shakespeare took it all in stride. In a series of 154 sonnets, the first few addressed to a Fair Youth, also envisioned as a young man, and the last few addressed to the Dark Woman whom he held a complex love affair with, Shakespeare took time time to explore his own understanding of sexuality and desire, while also making sure the public knew of his own voracious nature.
Here are some of Shakespeare’s best sonnets addressed to his “lovely boy.”
1) Sonnet 126 – “O thou, my lovely boy”
Sonnet 126 is the last of Shakespeare’s series of sonnets addressed to his lovely boy, more colloquially known as the “Fair Youth” sonnets. Throughout the lines of 126, it is clear to see Shakespeare is thoroughly enamored with the young man the poems are addressed to. Not only did he find the lad physically attractive, but he also found a strong emotional connection to him. Despite “time’s fickle glass,” Shakespeare believes that the boy has not aged a day and manages to retain his beauty.
Despite the care and love that Shakespeare holds for this boy, there is still a dark side to his poem, and he laments the day that the youth will die. Shakespeare knows all too well that with the passing of time that the boy will fall victim to the “wretched minute” which passes and nature will offer his beloved up to death and old age.
The beauty of the sonnet is found in how it is the end of the story of Shakespeare’s love for the boy. One day, despite the boy’s death, he will be immortalized through Shakespeare’s sonnets, and his beauty will be known by those who read the poet’s works.
2) Sonnet 18 – “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
More commonly known as “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?,” this sonnet is essentially a poem confessing Shakespeare’s love for the Fair Youth. Using metaphor upon metaphor like a love-sick fool, Shakespeare does what he can to encapsulate the beauty of the object of his affections.
One thing that remains constant is Shakespeare’s fascination with the contrast between life and death. He reassures to his lovely boy that his “eternal summer shall not fade” and “nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade.” And in a relatively lascivious manner, he comments that as long as men breathe or have eyes to see from, they will read the sonnet, and it will give life to the boy.
It is a bold, yet quite an endearing claim that a written poem will give eternal life. To a degree, it is touching to think that Shakespeare wanted to eternalize the Fair Youth for future generations to come, sharing his beauty to those who have no idea who the poem even refers to. And to Shakespeare’s defense, his intent to preserve the boy’s beauty came true, as people read his works today and wonder just who was this individual that stole the poet’s heart.
3) Sonnet 116: “Let me not to the marriage of true minds”
Once again delving into themes of time and love, Shakespeare now has a mental breakdown as he tries to understand whether or not the concept of true love is real. He compares love to “the star to every wandering bark,” never dying and never changing. But the craziest part of the sonnet is when Shakspeare declares “if this be error and upon me proved, / I never writ, no no man ever loved.” For those who are not fluent in Shakespeare-talk, this essentially means that if he is wrong, then no man has ever loved before.
Emphasizing the idea that time has no boundaries, Shakespeare stands by his belief that love is a constant even when the people in a relationship change. This sonnet is one of many addressed to the Fair Youth, and it seems to imply that Shakespeare will always love him no matter how the two of them change over the course of their relationship. It is also a sweet way for the poet to tell his muse that no man has ever loved before if the love between the two of them is not forever. Which is a little silly to think of when the last of Shakespeare’s sonnets are addressed to the Dark Woman.
4) Sonnet 80: “Oh how I faint when I of you do write”
This sonnet is one in which Shakespeare shares his feelings of inferiority, as now there is a competing poet aiming true for the heart of his lovely boy. He falls victim to the idea that “a better spirit doth use your name” and that another poet “spends all his might” trying to win over the fair youth.
Using the metaphor of an ocean to represent the Fair Youth and ships for the competing poets, Shakespeare laments as his “saucy bark, inferior far to his” and that his rival is one who is strong in heart and soul. Despite bringing himself down, he pours praise onto his love and shares that his “shallowest help will hold me up afloat,” essentially saying that even with the bare minimum of love he receives from the young man, it is enough to keep him up.
