This sonnet is one of the first of the Dark Lady sonnets. This sonnet is interesting in that it is a bit different than most others. In this sonnet, tenses change often. Usually, writers keep the same tense, so this is interesting. In line 10, three different tenses are used: “Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme”. The use of three different tenses in one line is a dramatic way of driving the meaning of the line home. Shakespeare is also dramatic in his description of lust. It is referred to as murderous, bloody, blameful, savage, extreme, rude, cruel, and conniving… All these words mean the same thing. Something must have happened to Shakespeare to cause him to feel this strongly about love and lust. He seems to be ranting because there is no period until right before the couplet. Shakespeare seems personally shaken because his writing is so poignant and full of feeling. Lastly, the couplet reads: “All this the world well knows yet none knows well To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell”. This is the idea of always wanting what is bad for us. We often know the consequences, but choose to do things anyways because we are enticed by the corrupt.
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