Sonnet 143 explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Love and Desire

  The speaker's unrequited love and longing for the beloved's attention.

• Truth and Deception

  The beloved's pursuit of false hopes while neglecting true affection.

Characters to notice

• William Shakespeare

  The speaker who compares himself to a neglected child.

• Youth

  The beloved who chases after fleeting desires.

Key passages

• “Lo! as a careful housewife runs to catch One of her feather’d creatures broke away, Sets down her babe and makes all swift dispatch In pursuit of the thing she would have stay, Whilst her neglected child holds her in chase, Cries to catch her whose busy care is bent To follow that which flies before her face, Not prizing her poor infant’s discontent;”

  Just as a diligent housewife chases a runaway chicken, setting down her baby to pursue what she wants to keep, while the neglected child runs after her, crying to catch her attention, but she ignores her baby's unhappiness,

  The speaker uses a domestic metaphor to describe the beloved's neglect.

• “So runn’st thou after that which flies from thee, Whilst I thy babe chase thee afar behind; But if thou catch thy hope, turn back to me, And play the mother’s part, kiss me, be kind:”

  So you chase after what flees from you, while I, like your baby, follow you from behind; but if you catch what you hope for, turn back to me and act like a mother—kiss me and be kind.

  The speaker pleads for the beloved to return and show affection.

• “So will I pray that thou mayst have thy “Will,” If thou turn back, and my loud crying still.”

  Thus I will pray that you may get your desire, if you turn back and quiet my loud crying.

  The speaker puns on 'Will' as both a name and a wish.