# CXXXVIII explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by William Shakespeare.

## 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.

## Character check-ins

### 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 lines

> 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._

## Links

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