Sonnet 134
So, now I have confess'd that he is thine,
captivity
betrayal
debt
love
So, now I have confess'd that he is thine,
And I myself am mortgaged to thy will,
Myself I'll forfeit, so that other mine
Thou wilt restore, to be my comfort still:
But thou wilt not, nor he will not be free,
For thou art covetous and he is kind;
He learn'd but surety-like to write for me
Under that bond that him as fast doth bind.
The statute of thy beauty thou wilt take,
Thou usurer, that put'st forth all to use,
And sue a friend came debtor for my sake;
So him I lose through my unkind abuse.
Him have I lost; thou hast both him and me:
He pays the whole, and yet am I not free.
What It Means
Shakespeare surrenders. His friend belongs to the mistress now. Shakespeare will stand guarantor for his friend's love. But the creditor (the mistress) won't release Shakespeare even if the debt is paid; she keeps both of them. He has mortgaged himself for his friend and cannot get free.
Context
Part of the Dark Lady sequence, continuing the triangle from Sonnet 133.
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