Poetry · Chapter
CXXXVIII explained
The speaker acknowledges that his beloved swears she is truthful, yet he knows she lies.
What happens
The speaker acknowledges that his beloved swears she is truthful, yet he knows she lies. He pretends to believe her so she thinks him naive, while she knows he is past his prime. Both suppress the truth, and the speaker reflects that love's best guise is seeming trust, and age in love dislikes being reminded of years. Thus they lie to each other and are flattered by their mutual deceptions.
Themes in this chapter
Truth and Deception
The entire sonnet revolves around the mutual lies between the speaker and his beloved, and the suppression of simple truth.
Time and Mortality
The speaker acknowledges his age ('my days are past the best') and that age in love dislikes being reminded of years.
Characters to notice
- William Shakespeare
The speaker who reflects on mutual deception in love.
- Love
Personified as the force that prefers seeming trust over truth.
- Truth and Deception
The central conflict between truth and lies in the relationship.
Key passages
“When my love swears that she is made of truth I do believe her, though I know she lies”
When my beloved swears she is truthful, I pretend to believe her even though I know she is lying.
The speaker knowingly accepts deception to maintain the illusion of trust.
“O, love's best habit is in seeming trust, And age in love loves not to have years told”
Oh, love's finest quality is the appearance of trust, and older lovers do not like to be reminded of their age.
The speaker justifies the mutual deception as a necessary comfort in love, especially for aging lovers.