# Sonnet CXXIX explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by William Shakespeare.

## What happens

The sonnet condemns lust as a wasteful and shameful expenditure of spirit, describing its destructive nature before, during, and after the act. It contrasts the initial bliss with the ensuing woe, and laments humanity's inability to avoid this hellish pursuit despite knowing its consequences.

## Themes in this chapter

### Lust and Morality

The entire sonnet is a moral condemnation of lust, detailing its perjured, murderous, and savage nature, and the inevitable shame and woe that follow.

## Character check-ins

### Lust and Morality

Lust is personified as a perjured, murderous, and savage force that leads to madness and shame.

## Key lines

> The expense of spirit in a waste of shame Is lust in action

Lust in action is a wasteful and shameful expenditure of one's vital energy.

_Opens with a stark moral judgment on the act of lust._

> Enjoy’d no sooner but despised straight

As soon as it is experienced, it is immediately despised.

_Highlights the immediate regret following the act._

> All this the world well knows; yet none knows well To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.

Everyone knows these truths, yet no one knows how to avoid the deceptive pleasure that leads to damnation.

_Concludes with a lament on human weakness and the paradox of pursuing what is known to be destructive._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se/chapters/cxxix
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se/chapters