SONNET 66
Tired with all these, for restful death I cry:
As, to behold desert a beggar born,
And needy nothing trimmed in jollity,
And purest faith unhappily forsworn,
And gilded honor shamefully misplaced,
And maiden virtue rudely strumpeted,
And right perfection wrongfully disgraced,
And strength by limping sway disablèd,
And art made tongue-tied by authority,
And folly, doctor-like, controlling skill,
And simple truth miscalled simplicity,
And captive good attending captain ill.
Tired with all these, from these would I be gone,
Save that, to die, I leave my love alone.
TODAY’S ENGLISH
I cry out for restful death, tired with all of these things:
For example seeing worth itself born as as beggar,
And worthlessness itself dressed in expensive clothes,
And purest faith herself unhappy abandoned,
And golden honor shamefully put on the wrong person,
And virgin virtue herself rudely rumored to be a bad woman
And correct perfection itself wrongfully insulted,
And strength itself disabled by crippled power,
And art itself made tongue-tied by authority,
And foolishness himself, like a doctor, over-powering skill,
And plain truth itself wrongfully labeled as simplicity,
And good itself made a prisoner and servant of evil.
Tired with all of this, I would like to leave them all behind,
Except that if I die, I leave my love alone.
ANALYSIS
In the first four lines of ‘Sonnet 66,’ the speaker begins by announcing that he’s
“Tired with all these”. The things that he’s referring to are numerous and follow in the next
quatrains. The world has truly gotten to him, exhausting his heart and making him long for the
peace of death. It is there that he’s finally going to find rest.
It’s at this point that the speaker turns to list out all of his grievances. This is a very
unusual structure for Shakespeare to engage in, especially as the “answer” to all these
problems doesn’t come until the fourteenth line of the poem. He starts by explaining that he’s
fed up with good people who are fated to live as beggars when they don’t deserve that
destiny. He is angry about the opposite side of the spectrum as well, rich people who get to
dress up in “jollity” but don’t deserve it. The last statement of this quatrain refers to people
who break vows that should be sacred.
In lines, five through eight of ‘Sonnet 66,’ the literary device known as anaphora is
quite obvious through the repetition of “And” at the beginning of all four lines (as well as the
next four). He describes how there are too many people who receive donors that are
“shamefully misplaced”. He also speaks about the “maiden” who has lost her virtue and
becomes a bad woman. The last two situations that he expresses his exhaustion over are
examples of good people “disgraced” through wrong language or slander. Then, he adds on,
those who are “disablèd” by the weak governmental organizations or authority figures of
some kind.
The same authority that unjustly controls the strong and good also controls the “art” or
artist. They are “tongue-tied” or silenced by figures who should have no control over them
whatsoever. This same power imbalance is described again in the next line as the speaker
suggests that doctors control the sick just like fools control the wise. There is an
interesting juxtaposition here between the “fool” and the “skilled” in society which is to be
respected and where the power should reside.
1. The "Beggar" Simile
“As to behold desert a beggar born,”
The Comparison: He is comparing "Desert" (true merit or talent) to a "Beggar."
The Meaning: He is frustrated that people who actually deserve success and honor are
born into poverty or treated like outcasts, while "unworthy" people get all the glory.
2. The "Villain" Simile (Implied "As")
“And captive good attending captain ill,”
While it doesn't use the word "like," the structure of the poem uses "As" at the start of several
lines to set up a series of comparative observations:
“As to behold...”
“And simple truth miscall'd simplicity,”
“And captive good...”
In this context, "As" functions as a way of saying "Such as seeing..." or "Like when I see..."
Why Similes are rare in Sonnet 66
This poem relies on antithesis (direct opposites) rather than similes. Shakespeare isn't trying
to describe what things are like; he is showing the literal, ugly reality of social injustice.
He lists these contrasts to show how the world is "upside down":
The "Good" things become bad:
Desert (Merit) Born as a beggar
Trust (Faith) is unhappily forsworn (betrayed)
HonoR is misplaced on the wrong people
Maiden Virtue is "strumpeted" (disgraced)
Strength is disabled by "limping sway" (bad leadership)