Poetry · Chapter
Sonnet LI explained
The poet excuses his horse's slow pace when leaving his beloved, but declares that desire will drive him to return with fiery speed, as love overcomes the limitations of flesh.
What happens
The poet excuses his horse's slow pace when leaving his beloved, but declares that desire will drive him to return with fiery speed, as love overcomes the limitations of flesh.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Desire
The poem centers on the speaker's intense desire to return to the beloved, with love personified as a driving force that overcomes physical limitations.
Lust and Morality
The tension between 'dull flesh' and 'fiery race' reflects the moral struggle between base physicality and pure love.
Characters to notice
- William Shakespeare
The speaker who excuses his horse's slowness and expresses his own desire to return to the beloved.
- Love
Personified as the force that drives the speaker's desire and excuses his horse's sluggishness.
Key passages
“Thus can my love excuse the slow offence Of my dull bearer when from thee I speed:”
My love can justify the sluggish fault of my slow horse when I am leaving you.
The poet begins by excusing his horse's slowness as he departs from the beloved.
“In winged speed no motion shall I know: Then can no horse with my desire keep pace;”
Even if I were as fast as a bird, I would feel no movement, because no horse can match the speed of my desire.
The speaker emphasizes that his desire is so swift that no physical speed can compare.
“But love, for love, thus shall excuse my jade; Since from thee going he went wilful-slow, Towards thee I’ll run, and give him leave to go.”
But love will excuse my worn-out horse; since he deliberately went slowly when I left you, I will run back to you and let him go at his own pace.
The poet concludes that love justifies the horse's slowness, and he will return to the beloved on foot if necessary.