Dear readers, this is different from my usual posts but I just came across an essay that I wrote last school year and I want to share it with you all. It is about Sonnet 122, by William Shakespeare. I will put the poem here for you to read before reading the essay.
Thy gift, thy tables, are within my brain
Full charactered with lasting memory,
Which shall above that idle rank remain
Beyond all date, even to eternity—
Or, at the least, so long as brain and heart
Have faculty by nature to subsist;
Till each to razed oblivion yield his part
Of thee, thy record never can be missed.
That poor retention could not so much hold,
Nor need I tallies thy dear love to score;
Therefore to give them from me was I bold,
To trust those tables that receive thee more.
To keep an adjunct to remember thee
Were to import forgetfulness in me.
People often find material things to be a source of happiness. People love souvenirs, taking photos, things that can help to remember and look back on good times. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 122: “Thy gift, thy tables, are within my brain” is about a poet who has been gifted a writing tablet from his beloved, but he gives it away. In the end, the reader finds out it is because the gift was supposed to be to remember the poet’s beloved, but the poet says he does not need a gift to remember them. The way Shakespeare formats this poem is as if it is written to someone, at first, it comes off as offensive and rude. Later, the tone softens and becomes more earnest. Shakespeare explores the idea of materialistic items and the value that they hold. In “Sonnet 122”, William Shakespeare argues that if someone is truly loved, souvenirs are inessential to remember them and conveys this through his use of alliteration and metaphor.
“Sonnet 122” conveys the theme that if true love is present then souvenirs of love are not needed. Shakespeare writes the poet saying that he can remember, “beyond all date; even to eternity.” This presents the message that material things are not necessary because love is eternal and strong, meaning it will last forever. The poet contradicts logic by insisting that his memory is more permanent than writing something down. This suggests that just like the poet, love is also illogical and if it is strong it will last. From this, one can infer that the poet is somewhat offended by the gift, that the giver is suggesting the poet’s memory is failing. The poet appears to have a negative reaction to this gift. So he flips the script when he says “thy record never can be missed.” Literally, this means that no one will miss that gift. However, what the poet is really trying to say with this is that ‘unlike you I don’t need souvenirs because I will love you till my death. Material things can get ruined but my memory of you will live on forever.’ This further proves the idea that love is immortal and everlasting.
Shakespeare’s use of figurative language further proves the idea that materialistic things are not needed when true love is present. He does this by comparing the topic of memory to the notebook. The poet is trying to argue that memory is forever, but the notebook is not. That memory is strong but a notebook can break. However, this is contradictory and paradoxical in a couple ways because logically a notebook is more reliable than memory. Memory distorts things and ideas, notebooks and written records hold the bitter, cold truth. From this one can infer that perhaps the poet wants to forget his beloved, perhaps he loves his beloved so much that he doesn’t want to remember that bad or cruel thing done by them. So as a result the poet shows their devotion to their beloved by getting rid of the gift. Furthermore, Shakespeare utilizes alliteration to strengthen the idea that the memory of his love is eternal. The alliteration of the words like “rank remain” and “to trust those tables” repeats certain sounds, just like how the poet says he will always remember and repeat his beloved in his brain. The alliteration is used to emphasize what that poet is trying to say about the memorability of his beloved. He says that it replays constantly and is eternal, just like his love, which does not need a notebook to remember.
Shakespeare conveys a couple main ideas. Those ideas being that love is immortal when true love is present because memory will always prevail. An overall message that is applicable to today’s world is that love is stronger than hate. Shakespeare is saying that if people continue to tell stories with love and passion and to hold onto and pass down the memories of loved ones then people will be liberated from their everyday material items. They will learn to be more independent and humanity will evolve if people start relying on their memory more and expressing their love through words instead of letters. Shakespeare believes that love is best and most organically conveyed through word of mouth.
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Thanks for reading!
xoxo,
Maria
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