Sonnet 139
O, call not me to justify the wrong
cruelty
power
love
wounds
O, call not me to justify the wrong
That thy unkindness lays upon my heart;
Wound me not with thine eye but with thy tongue;
Use power with power and slay me not by art.
Tell me thou lovest elsewhere, but in my sight,
Dear heart, forbear to glance thine eye aside:
What need'st thou wound with cunning when thy might
Is more than my o'er-press'd defense can bide?
Let me excuse thee: ah! my love well knows
Her pretty looks have been mine enemies,
And therefore from my face she turns my foes,
That they elsewhere might dart their injuries:
Yet do not so; but since I am near slain,
Kill me outright with looks and rid my pain.
What It Means
Don't ask me to defend your unkindness, Shakespeare says. If you want to wound me, wound me openly, not by looking at other men when I'm right there. Just use the eyes to kill me directly and be done with it. Use your power clearly rather than torturing through indirection.
Context
Part of the Dark Lady sequence.
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