Sonnet 147
1. My love is as a fever longing still,
2. For that which longer nurseth the disease,
3. Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill,
4. The uncertain sickly appetite to please:
5. My reason, the Physician to my love,
6. Angry that his prescriptions are not kept
7. Hath left me, and I desperate now approve,
8. Desire is death, which physic did except.
9. Past cure I am, now Reason is past care,
10. And frantic mad with evermore unrest,
11. My thoughts and my discourse as madmen's are,
12. At random from the truth vainly express'd.
13. For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright,
14. Who art as black as hell, as dark as night.
Her Evil
Dedication: To Elizabeth
Comparing first his love to a fever in which is thus contributing to his sickness. That his rational thoughts are as the Doctor treating his more irrational love but the medication he awaits (Henry's recognition) never comes. And he would thus prefer death. Telling her that he is both past cure and that he is no longer capable of being rational. Thus he is now a like a madman and as such he feels now entitled to say that while he thought her "fair", he now see her as "black as hell" and "dark as night".
1st Quatrain: (1-4)
Line 2 makes cleaver reference to the baby Henry in "nurseth the disease" and Elizabeth’s perpetuating the disease by virtue of her lie. A reference meant to appeal to a spot in Elizabeth's heart for which the poet knows she has as we will see. Line 3 reflects that Elizabeth is the love on which his love feeds and thus she is the one in line 2 who “nurseth the disease” (Henry). Which if I’m interpreting correctly might imply Elizabeth nursed Henry herself, which possibly was necessitated by the secrecy. Line 4 reveals that his is the “uncertain sickly appetite”.
2nd Quatrain: (5-8)
Line 5 continues with the thought of line 4 and reveals that Oxford’s must decide how his love for Elizabeth is to be reconciled with her misdeeds. His prescription is recognition of course .
3rd Quatrain: (9-12)
Lines 8, 9 and 10 reiterate his intense feelings of anger and his mental well being. And line 12 is likey a reference to what has become the official line of Elizabeth’s government with respect to Henry which is so completely out of sync with what our poet wants and expects.
couplet (13-14),
Of course he certainly must have been in the state relative madness to express these lines to the Queen. But I hope as well that this is both the context and the person to have been just so affected by such a feeling.
Commentary:
The poet discusses his own emotional transition, breaking out of his initial disbelief, and his struggle to regain a more logical state. There is a question in my mind of whether he is truly capable of reason which enables him to slander Elizabeth in the couplet. And which should be contrasted in sonnets to come which seem more wisely to function on a more logical basis.
The analogy of the physician whose plan of care is not being followed as it relates to his anger is clearly supportive of the supposition presented. His point of reason being past care however seems to indicate that he believes he is being perfectly logical and not caring about consequences is the result.
Previously in 150-148 the poet expressed his disbelief, here he expresses his immense anger. I believe as well that this sonnet seems hardly appreciated for the magnitude of the anguish that the poet expresses in the third quatrain. His message of his continued love in spite of his immense anger and rage begs the question of the source from which it stems. His accusations against his subject of “being black as hell” and “dark as night” are clear expressions of an awful act committed given the context of the charge after stating that his subject was conversely fair (honest) and bright (good). That this anger should be connected to the messages of the other preceding sonnets should also be clear. In fact this rage is reflected and referred to in line 11 of sonnet 17. This much greater connectedness and single purpose is not only embodied in the dedication but should also be thought of in light of the sonnets companion poem, “A Lover’s Complaint”.
This sonnet represents the true heart of the dark lady, who is only metaphorically dark. Her darkness as only metaphorical is very important and is an important key for both understanding the sonnets and for contrasting them with orthodox understanding of her, particularly as someone who is thought to be darkly complected (physically dark).
The arrow of time is a demonstrated via the poet reaching a new psychological state when the poet feels he can't handle the affects of the denial and lie, with language such as “frantic-mad”. This complete disbelief and anger again reflects back on the denial and lie. Again there are clues of a young child with the word “nurseth”.
While the orthodoxy comment on how the poet expresses his desperation and insanity, they fail to offer any explanation for it. Vendler comments interestingly the “paradox” of the sonnet, “that this ‘madman’ is perfectly clear about what the truth is”. But she completely circumvents and discussion of what the source of the crazed feelings might stem from. I personally feel that it should be clear that this issue has been spoken of before and will be elaborated on in the sonnets but I am benefiting from this proper order. But hopefully this order will show the connectedness of these sonnets alluded to by the dedication and by the poet himself (to come).
Of course orthodoxy is seemingly satisfied to remain in complete ignorance about the identity of the characters of the poems. Though many continue speculations based on the most inconsequential and unsubstantiated evidence. And yet this level of inquiry is somehow considered to be serious and scholarly. And this is made even more absurd by the circular reasoning that insists that the man from Stratford had to have authored the works.