Sonnet 45
The other two, slight air and purging fire,
elements
separation
melancholy
longing
The other two, slight air and purging fire,
Are both with thee, wherever I abide;
The first my thought, the other my desire,
These present-absent with swift motion slide.
For when these quicker elements are gone
In tender embassy of love to thee,
My life, being made of four, with two alone
Sinks down to death, oppress'd with melancholy;
Until life's composition be recured
By those swift messengers return'd from thee,
Who even but now come back again, assured
Of thy fair health, recounting it to me:
This told, I joy; but then no longer glad,
I send them back again and straight grow sad.
What It Means
The quick elements — fire and air — act as messengers between Shakespeare and the young man, carrying his thoughts and desires. But when they return with reassurance that the young man is well, the heavy elements of earth and water sink back into sadness. The cycle is endless: the light elements bring brief comfort; their departure leaves melancholy. There is no lasting relief while separation continues.
Context
Part of the Fair Youth sequence, the second half of the elements pair begun in Sonnet 44.
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