Sweetest love I do not go Analysis
First Stanza
Line 1: Sweetest love, I do not go,
Explanation: The speaker is addressing his beloved, calling her his “sweetest love.” He is assuring her that he is not leaving because he is tired of her or their relationship.
Line 2: For weariness of thee,
Explanation: The speaker is not leaving because he is bored with his beloved.
Line 3: Nor in hope the world can show
Explanation: The speaker is not leaving because he thinks he can find a better love elsewhere.
Line 4: A fitter love for me;
Explanation: There is no better love in the world for the speaker than his beloved.
Line 5: But since that I
Explanation: This line marks a shift in the speaker’s tone. He is now talking about his own mortality.
Line 6: Must die at last, ’tis best
Explanation: The speaker acknowledges that he must eventually die, and he says that it is best to prepare for death by practicing it.
Line 7: To use myself in jest
Explanation: This line introduces the speaker’s metaphor of his departure as a rehearsal for death. He is saying that he is practicing dying by pretending to die.
Line 8: Thus by feign’d deaths to die.
Explanation: This line completes the speaker’s metaphor. He is saying that he is practicing dying by pretending to die.
Overall, the first stanza of the poem is a beautiful and moving expression of love and devotion. The speaker is assuring his beloved that he is not leaving because he loves her less, but because he knows that he must eventually die. He is also trying to prepare himself for his death by practicing it now.
Second Stanza
Line 1: Yesternight the sun went hence,
Explanation: This line introduces the speaker’s comparison of himself to the sun. He is reassuring his beloved that even though he is leaving, he will return, just as the sun returns after setting.
Line 2: And yet is here today;
Explanation: This line emphasizes the sun’s constancy. The speaker is telling his beloved that his love for her is just as constant as the sun.
Line 3: He hath no desire nor sense,
Explanation: This line highlights the sun’s lack of motivation. The sun does not set because it wants to; it sets simply because it is its nature to do so. The speaker is suggesting that his departure is not a sign of his waning love; it is simply something that he must do.
Line 4: Nor half so short a way:
Explanation: This line emphasizes the length of the speaker’s journey. He is suggesting that his journey is much longer and more difficult than the sun’s daily journey across the sky. However, he is confident that he will return, just as the sun returns each day.
Line 5: Then fear not me,
Explanation: This line is the speaker’s direct appeal to his beloved not to be afraid of his departure. He is reassuring her that he will return, just as the sun returns each day.
Line 6: But believe that I shall make
Explanation: This line reinforces the speaker’s promise to return. He is telling his beloved that she can be confident in his love and fidelity.
Line 7: Speedier journeys, since I take
Explanation: This line explains why the speaker is confident that he will be able to return quickly. He is telling his beloved that he is traveling with more speed and determination than the sun.
Line 8: More wings and spurs than he.
Explanation: This line is a metaphor for the speaker’s love and determination. He is telling his beloved that his love for her gives him the “wings” and “spurs” he needs to travel quickly and efficiently.
Overall, the second stanza of the poem is a beautiful and reassuring expression of love. The speaker is assuring his beloved that he will return quickly because he is driven by his love for her. He also compares himself to the sun, which always returns after setting.
Third Stanza
Line 1: O how feeble is man’s power,
Explanation: This line expresses the speaker’s sense of human frailty. He is suggesting that humans are powerless to control their own destiny.
Line 2: That if good fortune fall,
Explanation: This line refers to good luck or fortune. The speaker is suggesting that humans cannot prolong their good fortune.
Line 3: Cannot add another hour,
Explanation: This line emphasizes the speaker’s point that humans are powerless to control their own destiny. Even if they are fortunate, they cannot extend their lives beyond their allotted time.
Line 4: Nor a lost hour recall!
Explanation: This line reinforces the speaker’s point that humans cannot control their own destiny. Even if they lose time, they cannot get it back.
Line 5: But come bad chance,
Explanation: This line refers to bad luck or misfortune. The speaker is contrasting good fortune with bad fortune.
Line 6: And we join to’it our strength,
Explanation: This line suggests that humans have a strange tendency to make bad luck worse. Instead of accepting bad luck and moving on, humans often try to fight it, which only makes it stronger.
Line 7: And we teach it art and length,
Explanation: This line continues the speaker’s metaphor of bad luck as a force that can be taught and manipulated. Humans, through their own actions, can make bad luck last longer and have a greater impact on their lives.
Line 8: Itself o’er us to’advance.
Explanation: This line is the culmination of the speaker’s argument. He is suggesting that humans ultimately empower bad luck by trying to fight it. The more we resist bad luck, the stronger it becomes.
Overall, the third stanza of the poem is a meditation on the nature of human frailty and the power of bad luck. The speaker suggests that humans are powerless to control their own destiny and that they often make bad luck worse by trying to fight it. The poem is a reminder that we must accept both good and bad fortune with humility and grace.
Fourth Stanza
Line 1: When thou sigh’st, thou sigh’st not wind,
Explanation: This line introduces the speaker’s comparison of his beloved’s sighs to the wind. He is suggesting that her sighs are so powerful that they can take his breath away.
Line 2: But sigh’st my soul away;
Explanation: This line emphasizes the power of the speaker’s beloved’s sighs. He is suggesting that her sighs can consume him and take his lifeblood away.
Line 3: When thou weep’st, unkindly kind,
Explanation: This line is a paradox. The speaker is calling his beloved’s tears “unkindly kind” because they cause him pain, but they also show her love for him.
Line 4: My life’s blood doth decay.
Explanation: This line emphasizes the effect of the speaker’s beloved’s tears on him. He is suggesting that her tears drain his lifeblood and weaken him.
Line 5: It cannot be
Explanation: This line expresses the speaker’s disbelief that his beloved truly loves him. He is suggesting that if she loved him, she would not be causing him so much pain.
Line 6: That thou lov’st me, as thou say’st,
Explanation: This line is a reference to his beloved’s professions of love. The speaker is questioning her sincerity.
Line 7: If in thine my life thou waste,
Explanation: This line explains the speaker’s reason for doubting his beloved’s love. He is suggesting that her sighs and tears are draining his lifeblood and weakening him.
Line 8: That art the best of me.
Explanation: This line emphasizes the speaker’s love for his beloved. He is suggesting that she is the best thing in his life, and that he cannot imagine living without her.
Overall, the fourth stanza of the poem is a powerful and moving expression of love and doubt. The speaker is struggling to reconcile his love for his beloved with the pain that she is causing him.
Fifth Stanza
Line 1: Let not thy divining heart
Explanation: This line is the speaker’s direct address to his beloved. He is asking her not to worry about him or to predict any bad fortune for him.
Line 2: Forethink me any ill;
Explanation: This line reiterates the speaker’s request that his beloved not worry about him.
Line 3: Destiny may take thy part,
Explanation: This line acknowledges the possibility that the speaker’s beloved may have to endure bad fortune.
Line 4: And may thy fears fulfil;
Explanation: This line suggests that the speaker’s beloved’s fears may come true.
Line 5: But think that we
Explanation: This line marks a shift in the speaker’s tone. He is now asking his beloved to focus on the positive.
Line 6: Are but turn’d aside to sleep;
Explanation: This line is a metaphor for death. The speaker is suggesting that death is only a temporary separation, like sleep.
Line 7: They who one another keep
Explanation: This line emphasizes the strength of the speaker’s love for his beloved. He is suggesting that their love is so strong that it can transcend even death.
Line 8: Alive, ne’er parted be.
Explanation: This line reiterates the speaker’s belief that he and his beloved will never be truly parted, even by death.
Overall, the fifth stanza of the poem is a beautiful and poignant reflection on love and death. The speaker is reassuring his beloved that even if their love is separated by death, their souls will always be together. He compares their love to sleep, suggesting that death is simply a temporary separation.
