Sonnet 145
Those lips that Love's own hand did make
relief
love
mercy
language
Those lips that Love's own hand did make
Breathed forth the sound that said 'I hate'
To me that languish'd for her sake;
But when she saw my woeful state,
Straight in her heart did mercy come,
Chiding that tongue that ever sweet
Was used in giving gentle doom,
And taught it thus anew to greet:
'I hate' she alter'd with an end,
That follow'd it as gentle day
Doth follow night, who like a fiend
From heaven to hell is flown away;
'I hate' from hate away she threw,
And saved my life, saying 'not you.'
What It Means
The most unusual sonnet in the sequence. It's written in iambic tetrameter (four feet per line) rather than the standard pentameter, giving it a lighter, song-like quality. His mistress's lips began to say 'I hate' but softened it to 'not you.' The tone is playful and affectionate — uncharacteristic of the sequence as a whole.
Context
Part of the Dark Lady sequence. The tetrameter structure and lighter tone have led many scholars to date this much earlier than the rest of the sequence — possibly written for Anne Hathaway before Shakespeare left Stratford. The final line may contain a punning reference to 'Anne Hathaway.'
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