Sonnet 122
Thy guift, thy tables, are within my brain
Full characterd with lasting memory,
Which shall above that idle rancke remaine
Beyond all date even to eternity.
Or at the least, so long as braine and heart
Have facultie by nature to subsist,
Til each to raz'd oblivion yeeld his part
Of thee, thy record never can be mist
That poore retention could not so much hold,
Nor need I tallies thy deare love to skore,
Therefore to give them from me was I bold,
To trust those tables that receave thee more,
To keepe an adjunckt to remember thee,
Were to import forgetfulness in mee.
Commentary
Address to his young friend
Changes to the original text
A few things are necessary preparatory to coming to an understanding of what this sonnet is about. Firstly, the 'tables' that are mentioned in the first line refers to a book filled with writings, the gift (guift) given by the friend to the poet, probably the same book which the poet gave to his friend as a blank book in Sonnet 77. The young man has filled the book with his thoughts, and given it back to the poet. The poet has given the book away.
In the first quatrain, the poet claims that he has no need of the book as he has memorised everything the young man wrote (full characterd with lasting memory), and his memory of what the young man said will last until all eternity.
In the second quatrain, the poet corrects himself, well, if not eternity, then at least for as long as he lives.
In the third quatrain, the poet tries to further justify his giving the book away with the idea that the young man should trust to him (the poet) and his ability to remember (to trust those tables that receave thee more) not to a stupid book.
In the final couplet, the poet claims that for him to keep something (in this case the book) to remember him (the friend) by would be to impute him (the poet) with forgetfulness.