Sonnet 133
Beshrew that heart that makes my heart to groan
jealousy
betrayal
captivity
obsession
Beshrew that heart that makes my heart to groan
For that deep wound it gives my friend and me!
Is't not enough to torture me alone,
But slave to slavery my sweet'st friend must be?
Me from myself thy cruel eye hath taken,
And my next self thou harder hast engross'd:
Of him, myself, and thee, I am forsaken;
A torment thrice threefold thus to be cross'd.
Prison my heart in thy steel bosom's ward,
But then my friend's heart let my poor heart bail;
Whoe'er keeps me, let my heart be his guard;
Thou canst not then use rigor in my gaol:
And yet thou wilt; for I, being pent in thee,
Perforce am thine, and all that is in me.
What It Means
Shakespeare's mistress has enslaved him and also his friend (presumably the young man from the earlier sequence). He is in a love triangle: his mistress has captured his friend too, and Shakespeare has lost them both. He has been put in a jail that is his own chest — captive within himself. The only thing left is for his mistress to keep his friend safe, since she has them both.
Context
Part of the Dark Lady sequence. This sonnet is read as depicting the same triangle as Sonnets 40–42 — Shakespeare's mistress and the young man.
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