William Shakespeare, Sonnet cxlix
Canst thou, O cruel! say I love thee not,
When I, against myself, with thee partake? [*]
Do I not think on thee, when I forgot
4
Am of myself, all tyrant, for thy sake?
Who hateth thee that I do call my friend?
On whom frown'st thou that I do fawn upon?
Nay if thou lower'st on me, do I not spend
8
Revenge on myself with present moan?
What merit do I in myself respect,
That is so proud thy service to despise,
When all my best doth worship thy defect,
12
Commanded by the motion of thine eyes?
But, love, hate on, for now I know thy mind;
Those that can see thou lov'st , and I am blind.
Notes
line 2: Partake -- take part. A partaker was a confederate. [ Back to text ]
Most notes to Shakespeare's sonnets are from Charles Knight's edition, but those in square brackets are mine.