Sonnet 31: Thy Bosom Is Endeared With All Hearts
Thy bosom is endeared with all hearts,
Which I by lacking have supposed dead;
And there reigns Love, and all Love’s loving parts,
And all those friends which I thought buried.
How many a holy and obsequious tear
Hath dear religious love stol’n from mine eye,
As interest of the dead, which now appear
But things remov’d that hidden in thee lie!
Thou art the grave where buried love doth live,
Hung with the trophies of my lovers gone,
Who all their parts of me to thee did give,
That due of many now is thine alone:
Their images I lov’d, I view in thee,
And thou (all they) hast all the all of me.
Sonnet 31: Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis
Line 1: “Thy bosom is endeared with all hearts,”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Bosom – Heart or soul; a place of deep emotions.
- Endeared – Filled with love and affection.
- All hearts – All the people the speaker has loved.
Explanation & Context:
The speaker addresses a beloved person, saying that their heart holds the love of all others he has lost. This suggests that the beloved represents and contains all past relationships—romantic or platonic.
Line 2: “Which I by lacking have supposed dead;”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Lacking – Missing or absent.
- Supposed dead – Believed to be gone forever.
Explanation & Context:
Because he no longer has those past lovers or friends in his life, he thought they were lost forever. However, he now realizes their love still exists—within his beloved.
Line 3: “And there reigns Love, and all Love’s loving parts,”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Reigns – Rules over, governs.
- Love’s loving parts – The different aspects of love, such as affection, passion, and loyalty.
Explanation & Context:
In the beloved’s heart, Love itself rules along with all the qualities that come with it—kindness, devotion, and passion. The speaker implies that true love never truly dies—it just changes form.
Line 4: “And all those friends which I thought buried.”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Thought buried – Believed to be dead or forgotten.
Explanation & Context:
The speaker once mourned lost loved ones, thinking they were gone forever. But now, he realizes they still exist in spirit within his beloved.
Line 5: “How many a holy and obsequious tear”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Holy and obsequious tear – A tear shed out of religious devotion and deep respect.
Explanation & Context:
He has cried many sacred tears of mourning for those he has lost, treating them almost as saints.
Line 6: “Hath dear religious love stol’n from mine eye,”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Dear religious love – A love that feels sacred and profound.
- Stol’n from mine eye – Secretly taken tears from his eyes.
Explanation & Context:
His love for those lost has made him weep many times, as though mourning in a religious ritual.
Line 7: “As interest of the dead, which now appear”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Interest of the dead – A kind of emotional debt or obligation to remember the deceased.
Explanation & Context:
His grief was a way of paying tribute to the dead. But now, he realizes they still exist through his beloved, so mourning is unnecessary.
Line 8: “But things remov’d that hidden in thee lie!”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Things remov’d – People who are gone.
- Hidden in thee – Still exist within the beloved.
Explanation & Context:
Instead of being truly lost, his past loves remain within his beloved, living on in a different way.
Line 9: “Thou art the grave where buried love doth live,”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Grave – A metaphorical resting place.
- Buried love doth live – The paradox that love, though seemingly dead, still exists.
Explanation & Context:
His beloved is like a sacred tomb where love is not dead, but still alive. This line suggests that love never dies—it just changes form.
Line 10: “Hung with the trophies of my lovers gone,”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Trophies – Symbols or reminders.
- Lovers gone – People he once loved but has lost.
Explanation & Context:
His beloved carries the memories and essence of those he has loved before, as though their love still exists as trophies or relics inside them.
Line 11: “Who all their parts of me to thee did give,”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Parts of me – Pieces of his love and affection.
- To thee did give – Were transferred to his beloved.
Explanation & Context:
The love he once shared with past lovers has now been fully given to his current beloved, making them the ultimate keeper of his emotions.
Line 12: “That due of many now is thine alone:”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Due of many – Love that was once shared among many people.
- Thine alone – Now belongs to only one person.
Explanation & Context:
All the love he once gave to different people has now been concentrated in his beloved, who holds all of his heart.
Line 13: “Their images I lov’d, I view in thee,”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Images – The reflections or memories of past lovers.
- View in thee – See within his beloved.
Explanation & Context:
The features and qualities of his past lovers are now present in his beloved, making them the embodiment of all love he has ever known.
Line 14: “And thou (all they) hast all the all of me.”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- All they – All of them (his past lovers).
- All the all of me – Every part of his love and being.
Explanation & Context:
His beloved is now the sum of everyone he has ever loved, holding every part of his heart and soul.
Final Analysis:
1. Theme of Love and Memory
This sonnet explores how love never truly disappears—it is simply transferred and transformed. The speaker’s past lovers are not lost, but rather live on in his current beloved.
2. Theme of Death and Love’s Immortality
The contrast between death and love is central. Though he mourned lost lovers as if they were gone forever, he now realizes they still exist within his beloved.
3. Theme of Emotional Legacy
Just as physical traits are inherited, love itself can be passed on. Every love he has ever felt accumulates in his beloved, making them the keeper of his entire emotional history.
4. Shakespeare’s Message
Shakespeare suggests that true love is never lost—it just finds a new home. The people we have loved never truly leave us; their influence remains in our hearts.
Conclusion:
This sonnet beautifully portrays how past love shapes our present emotions. Instead of grieving lost relationships, the speaker embraces the idea that love is eternal, existing in different forms within the people we hold dear.
Summary
In Sonnet 31, the speaker describes how all the love he has lost in the past—whether through death or separation—now resides in his beloved. He initially mourned these losses, believing his former lovers or friends were gone forever, but he now realizes that their essence lives on within his current love.
The beloved becomes a symbolic “grave” where past love is not dead but still alive, adorned with the memories and emotions of all the speaker’s former relationships. In this way, the speaker suggests that his beloved embodies all the love he has ever felt, making him wholly devoted to this one person.
Critical Analysis
Sonnet 31 explores the persistence of love beyond loss, emphasizing that true affection never disappears but is instead transferred and transformed. The poem has a melancholic yet comforting tone, as the speaker moves from grief to a realization of emotional continuity.
Rather than seeing love as a finite resource that diminishes with each loss, the speaker suggests that love accumulates and deepens, eventually residing in one person who embodies all previous affections. This idea challenges the notion of love as something that fades with time, presenting it instead as an eternal and evolving force.
Theme Analysis
1. Love as an Eternal Force
The poem presents love as something that never truly disappears. Even though the speaker has lost past loves, he realizes that their essence still exists within his beloved. This suggests that love is not erased by time but rather transformed.
2. The Beloved as a Living Memorial
The speaker describes his beloved as a “grave” where past love still lives, turning this person into a memorial for all his previous relationships. However, this grave is not a place of death but of preservation and renewal, symbolizing how love continues within a new form.
3. The Psychological Impact of Loss
The poem reflects how grief and longing shape the way people experience love. The speaker originally wept for lost friends and lovers, but he now realizes that they were never truly gone—their presence has been transferred to someone else. This mirrors how memories and emotions from past relationships often influence new ones.
4. Devotion and Possession in Love
The final couplet suggests a sense of total devotion, as the speaker acknowledges that his beloved now holds all of his love. There is an implication that love is cumulative rather than compartmentalized—rather than dividing his love among multiple people, all of it is now concentrated in one person.
Literary Devices
1. Metaphor
- “Thou art the grave where buried love doth live,”
→ The beloved is compared to a grave, but this is a paradox, as love is still “alive” within it. This challenges the idea that lost love is truly dead, suggesting instead that it is merely relocated. - “Hung with the trophies of my lovers gone,”
→ The beloved is adorned with the memories of past lovers, like a monument decorated with trophies. This suggests that past relationships contribute to the beauty and significance of the present one.
2. Personification
- “And there reigns Love, and all Love’s loving parts,”
→ Love is personified as a ruler who resides in the beloved’s heart, suggesting that this person embodies all aspects of love. - “Hath dear religious love stol’n from mine eye,”
→ Love is given the human ability to “steal” tears, emphasizing how deeply the speaker has grieved for past losses.
3. Alliteration
- “Their images I lov’d, I view in thee,”
→ The repetition of the “l” sound creates a soft, reflective tone, reinforcing the speaker’s nostalgic emotions. - “That due of many now is thine alone:”
→ The “d” sounds emphasize the finality of the speaker’s devotion, as all his love now belongs to one person.
4. Paradox
- “Thou art the grave where buried love doth live.”
→ A grave is typically a place of death, yet here it preserves and sustains love. This paradox suggests that love does not die but instead transforms into something new.
5. Repetition
- “And all those friends which I thought buried.”
→ The repetition of “all” highlights how comprehensive and inclusive the speaker’s devotion is—his beloved contains every past relationship.
6. The Volta (Shift in Tone)
- The poem starts with a tone of mourning, as the speaker believes that love and friendship have been lost.
- However, by the final lines, the speaker realizes that his beloved embodies all the love he has ever known, bringing a sense of comfort and resolution.
Conclusion
Sonnet 31 explores the idea that love is not lost but rather transformed. The speaker initially grieves for past lovers and friends, but he comes to recognize that their love still exists within his current beloved.
Through metaphors of burial, monuments, and devotion, Shakespeare presents love as something that accumulates rather than diminishes. The poem suggests that past emotions and relationships do not fade—they simply take new forms in the people we continue to love.
By the end of the sonnet, the speaker fully surrenders himself to his beloved, recognizing that this person now holds all his love—not just for the present, but for all time.
