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20051008

For Shame! A Personal Interpretation

In Sonnet X William Shakespeare wrote:

For shame! deny that thou bear'st love to any,
Who for thyself art so unprovident.
Grant, if thou wilt, thou art beloved of many,
But that thou none lovest is most evident;
For thou art so possess'd with murderous hate
That 'gainst thyself thou stick'st not to conspire.
Seeking that beauteous roof to ruinate
Which to repair should be thy chief desire.
O, change thy thought, that I may change my mind!
Shall hate be fairer lodged than gentle love?
Be, as thy presence is, gracious and kind,
Or to thyself at least kind-hearted prove:
Make thee another self, for love of me,
That beauty still may live in thine or thee.


When Shakespeare asks "Shall hate be fairer lodged than gentle love?", he means in the heart.

In this poem, he asks his love to "make thee another self, for love of me".

This implies another self not possessed by hate i.e. controlling the mind so that hate of the beloved's deeds does not cause the lover to do or wish ill-will towards her beloved.

Out of concern for her, the author asks that his beloved create another self i.e. change her mind, so that she may retain her beauty.

Thus, for the love of another person, it's wise to not let hate distract you from love.

For a heart possessed by love retains a sense of beauty i.e. goodness, humility etc.

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