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Sonnet 90 Analysis

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By Marie Kalinina IIIc.2 eng.
Sonnet 90 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 90 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It is a member of the Fair Youth sequence, in which the poet expresses his love towards a young man.
The sonnet continues the themes of the breakdown of the relationship between the youth and the poet. The poet suggests that the youth should reject him now that everyone seems to be against him. The poet exhorts the youth not to wait to reject him until after these other, less important, sorrows have passed. At least if he is rejected now, his other problems will pale into insignificance.
Sonnet 90 continues directly from the previous sonnet, which ended, "For thee, against myself I'll vow debate / For I must ne'er love him whom thou dost hate." In the final couplet of Sonnet 89, the word "hate" proves a shocking contrast to the speaker's usual use of the word "love," and it is echoed here in the line one of Sonnet 90: "Then hate me when thou wilt; if ever, now." In the conventions of the sonnet, "hate" means a beloved's disdain more than the modern-day meaning of the word.
This sonnet also continues the downward spiral of loss and wretchedness that began with the sense of a final separation in Sonnet 87: "Farewell, thou art too dear for my possessing." However, the reality of the separation is up in the air. It is unclear whether it has already occurred, or whether it is impending. The use of the word "if" in line 9: "If thou wilt leave me," suggests that it is not even certain whether the fair lord has decided finally on the separation; it might be the case that the poet is worrying over a suspicion.
The imagery of a war is used to convey the speaker's feelings concerning losing his love in addition to all the troubles that already plague him. He is already under siege by "the spite of fortune," and he pleads with the fair lord to figuratively attack him with the bad news of separation now, rather than waiting until the end of the war to leave him. Lines 5-6, "Ah! do not, when my heart hath 'scaped this sorrow, / Come in the rearward of a conquered woe," give the impression that the poet has overcome the "sorrow" that fortune has beset upon him, but now the fair lord would sneak attack his figurative army from behind, as if he were a reinforcement for fortune's army.
The meaning of line 4 is unclear, though scholars think it likely has to do with gaming. The context of the sonnet suggests it might refer to war, in alignment with the war imagery, especially in light of the words "rearward," "conquered," "overthrow." The idea seems to be that the fair lord's rejection would be like an unexpected loss in a game, or a change of fortune in a battle whose outcome seemed to be determined in the speaker's favor.
Lines 11-14 show the reason for the speaker's insistence that the fair lord leave him now, rather than later: he would rather bear the worst blow first, so that whatever bad fortune follows won't seem so bad. The phrase "strains of woe" refers to different variations of sorrow, in different aspects of the poet's life. "Strain" also means the sound of a piece of music being played, like a tune of sorrow.

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