Sonnet 43

Traditionally, the Italian sonnet centers on a speaker’s meditation upon a nearly god-like woman, who inspires worship. While William Shakespeare’s speaker changes the gender of the object to The Fair Youth, the impetus of “Sonnet 43” (although English in form) is the same. The speaker longs for the blessing from the beloved’s sun-like presence.

The speaker feels warmest when in the presence of the beloved, and their life has dimmed because of his absence. This is made clear by how “all the day they view things unrespected” (Line 2). However, this dim view of the world is alleviated by the “bright” (Line 4) appearance of the beloved when they “sleep” (Line 3). It is then that the “shade” (Lines 8, 11), or dream vision, of the beloved “shines” (Line 8). The speaker sees the beloved in positive terms, noting how his “happy form” (Line 6) brightens “shadows” (Line 5) with a “light” (Line 7) that is brighter than any sunlight would be. This powerful glow is so intense and lauded that it suggests a godlike presence. This aligns with the Italian tradition.

That the speaker worships this presence is shown by their need to fall into “heavy sleep” (Line 12) to attend to it.