Sonnet 57

1. Being your slave, what should I do but tend,

2. Upon the hours and times of your desire?

3. I have no precious time at all to spend;

4. Nor services to do, till you require.

5. Nor dare I chide the world-without-end hour

6. Whilst I (my sovereign) watch the clock for you,

7. Nor think the bitterness of absence sour

8. When you have bid your servant once adieu.

9. Nor dare I question with my jealous thought

10. Where you may be, or your affairs suppose,

11. But like a sad slave, stay and think of nought

12. Save where you are, how happy you make those.

13. So true a fool is love that in your Will,

14. (Though you do any thing) he thinks no ill.

I Tend Upon Your Desire

Dedication: To Elizabeth

Oxford continuing on the theme of his slavery to Elizabeth explains this he thus loyally and patiently waits on her decision with regard to Henry. Making reference to the ills she commits and the watching and reminding of the ticking clock that requires a decision.

1st Quatrain: (1-4)

Again Oxford is a slave to her and must merely wait on her decision

2nd Quatrain: (5-8)

Telling her he should not chide the world when there is no (acceptable) conclusion to Elizabeth's end. Mentioning of course how he watches the clock for his sovereign. Also commenting how he won't find her previoud dismissal of Henry distasteful.

3rd Quatrain: (9-12)

More obedient slave proclamations. It may be interesting that Elizabeth no doubt had taken interest in Leister or one of her other courtiers and Oxford may finally have sensed he had lost the leverage of her love.

couplet (13-14),

Finishing in the guise of Will, that he makes no judgments on what she does, though he is clearly again implying she still is doing that which he objects to.


Commentary:

Oxford clearing again alluding to both his loyalty and his position of waiting on Elizabeth’s wishes whatever they may be. Which he uncharacteristically (at least from the early sonnets) expresses that regardless of her current indecision and inaction “thinks no ill”. He however feels the need to remind her of her need to decide and the fact that there is not an indefinite period of time for her to make her decision regarding Henry nor does he seem to trust her ability to judge when she might do so as he reminds her in line 6 that he is watching the clock for her. Which is something that reiterates that this has and will continue to be an important theme of the sonnets.

The mention of the parenthetical “my sovereign” in line 6 is again one of those instances where orthodoxy takes what is explicit and makes it metaphorical while missing the all of the most of the deep and rich metaphor that actually surrounds these poems and contains explicit meaning. This sonnet likely in one of the pairs previously mentioned along with 58 and thus the ordering is likely reversed here as mentioned. Worth mentioning is the reappearance of the usage of Will representing primarily Elizabeth’s choice as discussed and which is clearly the main theme of the sonnet, but also clearly referencing his own other identity which I believe as part of the surprise of the couplet is reflective of the fact that his name is actually not Will but that he does refer to himself as such.

Further it should be vastly more sensible that this sonnet is addressed to a women/Elizabeth and offer this in obvious contrast to the traditional paradigm.

Vendler understand this sonnet as a general comment on the subject doing as they please but analysis offers no context and connection to how this sonnet relates to the rest of the sonnets or offers a larger picture.