Sonnet 133: Beshrew That Heart That Makes My Heart To Groan
For that deep wound it gives my friend and me!
Is’t not enough to torture me alone,
But slave to slavery my sweet’st friend must be?
Me from myself thy cruel eye hath taken,
And my next self thou harder hast engrossed:
Of him, myself, and thee I am forsaken;
A torment thrice three-fold thus to be crossed.
Prison my heart in thy steel bosom’s ward,
But then my friend’s heart let my poor heart bail;
Whoe’er keeps me, let my heart be his guard;
Thou canst not then use rigour in my jail:
And yet thou wilt; for I, being pent in thee,
Perforce am thine, and all that is in me.
Sonnet Line 1:
“Beshrew that heart that makes my heart to groan”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Beshrew: Curse or condemn.
- Makes my heart to groan: Causes my heart to suffer.
Explanation:
The speaker begins by cursing the beloved’s heart, which causes their own heart to suffer. This line introduces the theme of emotional pain inflicted by the beloved, setting the tone for a lament about the speaker’s torment. The tone is bitter, highlighting the speaker’s anguish.
Sonnet Line 2:
“For that deep wound it gives my friend and me!”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Deep wound: Severe emotional pain.
- My friend and me: Both the speaker and their friend.
Explanation:
The speaker elaborates that the beloved’s heart inflicts deep emotional pain not only on them but also on their friend. This line introduces the idea of shared suffering, emphasizing the extent of the beloved’s cruelty. The tone is pained, underscoring the speaker’s distress.
Sonnet Line 3:
“Is’t not enough to torture me alone,”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Is’t not enough: Is it not sufficient.
- Torture me alone: Cause me alone to suffer.
Explanation:
The speaker questions whether it is not enough for the beloved to cause them alone to suffer, suggesting that the beloved’s cruelty extends beyond the speaker. This line highlights the speaker’s frustration and sense of injustice. The tone is exasperated, emphasizing the speaker’s emotional turmoil.
Sonnet Line 4:
“But slave to slavery my sweet’st friend must be?”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Slave to slavery: Enslaved or subjected to servitude.
- Sweet’st friend: Dearest friend.
Explanation:
The speaker laments that their dearest friend is also enslaved by the beloved’s cruelty, suggesting that the beloved’s influence is pervasive and destructive. This line underscores the speaker’s sense of helplessness and despair. The tone is mournful, highlighting the speaker’s sorrow.
Sonnet Line 5:
“Me from myself thy cruel eye hath taken,”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Thy cruel eye: Your harsh gaze.
- Hath taken: Has taken away.
Explanation:
The speaker accuses the beloved’s cruel gaze of separating them from their own sense of self. This line suggests that the beloved’s influence has a profound and destabilizing effect on the speaker. The tone is accusatory, emphasizing the speaker’s sense of loss.
Sonnet Line 6:
“And my next self thou harder hast engrossed:”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Next self: Closest friend or other self.
- Engrossed: Taken over or monopolized.
Explanation:
The speaker claims that the beloved has also taken over their closest friend, further emphasizing the extent of the beloved’s control. This line underscores the speaker’s sense of betrayal and helplessness. The tone is despairing, highlighting the speaker’s emotional pain.
Sonnet Line 7:
“Of him, myself, and thee I am forsaken;”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Forsaken: Abandoned or deserted.
Explanation:
The speaker declares that they are abandoned by their friend, themselves, and the beloved, suggesting a complete loss of connection and identity. This line underscores the speaker’s profound sense of isolation and despair. The tone is desolate, emphasizing the speaker’s emotional devastation.
Sonnet Line 8:
“A torment thrice three-fold thus to be crossed.”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Torment thrice three-fold: Three times three layers of suffering.
- Crossed: Thwarted or opposed.
Explanation:
The speaker describes their suffering as three times three layers of torment, emphasizing the intensity and complexity of their pain. This line underscores the speaker’s overwhelming sense of anguish. The tone is dramatic, highlighting the speaker’s emotional turmoil.
Sonnet Line 9:
“Prison my heart in thy steel bosom’s ward,”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Prison my heart: Imprison my heart.
- Steel bosom’s ward: The protective custody of your unyielding heart.
Explanation:
The speaker pleads for the beloved to imprison their heart, suggesting a desire for closeness even in the face of cruelty. This line underscores the speaker’s conflicting emotions of love and pain. The tone is desperate, highlighting the speaker’s emotional vulnerability.
Sonnet Line 10:
“But then my friend’s heart let my poor heart bail;”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- My poor heart bail: Allow my heart to rescue.
Explanation:
The speaker asks that if their heart is imprisoned, it should be allowed to rescue their friend’s heart. This line suggests a selfless desire to protect their friend, even at their own expense. The tone is self-sacrificing, emphasizing the speaker’s loyalty and compassion.
Sonnet Line 11:
“Whoe’er keeps me, let my heart be his guard;”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Whoe’er keeps me: Whoever holds me captive.
- His guard: His protector.
Explanation:
The speaker requests that their heart be allowed to act as a protector for their friend, even if they themselves are imprisoned. This line underscores the speaker’s deep concern for their friend’s well-being. The tone is protective, highlighting the speaker’s selflessness.
Sonnet Line 12:
“Thou canst not then use rigour in my jail:”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Canst not: Cannot.
- Use rigour: Be harsh or severe.
Explanation:
The speaker argues that if their heart is allowed to protect their friend, the beloved cannot be harsh in their imprisonment. This line suggests a plea for leniency and compassion. The tone is pleading, emphasizing the speaker’s desire for mercy.
Sonnet Line 13:
“And yet thou wilt; for I, being pent in thee,”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Pent in thee: Confined within you.
Explanation:
The speaker acknowledges that the beloved will still be harsh, as the speaker is entirely confined by their love. This line underscores the speaker’s sense of entrapment and helplessness. The tone is resigned, highlighting the speaker’s acceptance of their fate.
Sonnet Line 14:
“Perforce am thine, and all that is in me.”
Difficult Words Meaning:
- Perforce: By necessity or inevitably.
- Am thine: Belong to you.
Explanation:
The speaker concludes that they inevitably belong to the beloved, along with everything within them. This line underscores the speaker’s complete submission to the beloved’s power. The tone is resigned, emphasizing the speaker’s acceptance of their emotional captivity.
In-Depth Analysis of Sonnet 133
Summary
In Sonnet 133, the speaker curses the heart of his mistress for causing him and his dear friend deep emotional pain. The poem suggests that her cruelty does not only wound the speaker but also enslaves his friend. The speaker feels doubly tormented because his mistress has not only captured his own heart but also that of his closest companion.
He laments that she has taken his very self—first by capturing his own love, and then by “engrossing” his friend even more harshly. This creates a triple form of suffering: he loses himself, his friend, and the love of the mistress, making him feel utterly abandoned.
In the third quatrain, the speaker presents an appeal. He asks that his heart be imprisoned in the “steel bosom” of the mistress but begs her to release his friend. He offers to serve as a form of bail for his friend’s heart, meaning that if she must keep someone in suffering, she should at least free his friend from her cruelty.
However, in the final couplet, he expresses hopelessness. He acknowledges that the mistress will not show mercy. Since his heart is trapped within her, all of him—including his loyalty to his friend—is under her control. This resignation suggests that love, particularly with this mistress, is a form of inevitable servitude.
Critical Analysis
Sonnet 133 is one of the darker sonnets in the Dark Lady sequence. Here, Shakespeare shifts from personal suffering to the pain inflicted on both himself and his friend. This introduces an interesting triangular dynamic: the speaker, his male friend, and the Dark Lady are caught in a complex web of love, jealousy, and betrayal.
The poem reflects obsession and entrapment in love. The mistress is depicted as a force of cruelty, someone who captures hearts not only through affection but through a form of emotional imprisonment. The speaker, even as he curses her for her cruelty, cannot escape his enslavement to her.
Another layer of complexity is the deep bond between the speaker and his friend. In Shakespeare’s sonnet sequence, this male friend is likely the same “fair youth” addressed in earlier sonnets. The intensity of the speaker’s plea for his friend’s freedom suggests that his love for this friend is just as profound as (if not more than) his love for the mistress. This raises questions about whether this sonnet expresses jealousy, romantic longing, or simply deep platonic attachment.
Additionally, the final resignation in the couplet—where the speaker acknowledges that the mistress holds absolute power over him—reinforces the theme of love as imprisonment. No matter how much he resents his suffering, he cannot free himself from it.
Theme Analysis
- Love as Enslavement
- The mistress is depicted as a captor who cruelly holds both the speaker and his friend in emotional chains. Love is not freeing but a form of servitude.
- Jealousy and Betrayal
- The sonnet suggests a love triangle, where the mistress is involved with both the speaker and his male friend. The speaker feels abandoned and pained by this dual betrayal.
- Sacrifice and Loyalty
- The speaker is willing to sacrifice his own freedom for the sake of his friend. This emphasizes the deep loyalty he feels, showing that his connection to his friend might be stronger than his love for the mistress.
- Inevitability of Suffering in Love
- The speaker ultimately realizes that there is no escape. His suffering is a consequence of his attachment, making love a doomed and painful experience.
Literary Devices
- Personification
- “Beshrew that heart that makes my heart to groan” → The mistress’s heart is given agency, as if it deliberately causes suffering.
- “Me from myself thy cruel eye hath taken” → The mistress’s eye is described as “cruel,” as though it actively steals the speaker’s sense of self.
- Metaphor: Love as Prison
- “Prison my heart in thy steel bosom’s ward” → The speaker sees his love for the mistress as literal imprisonment, reinforcing the theme of emotional enslavement.
- Repetition and Intensification
- “A torment thrice three-fold” → The use of “thrice three-fold” (meaning nine times the pain) exaggerates the suffering to emphasize the depth of the speaker’s anguish.
- Wordplay on Legal Imagery
- “Let my poor heart bail” → The speaker uses the legal concept of bail, as if his heart can act as surety for his friend’s freedom. This reinforces the theme of emotional bondage and imprisonment.
- Irony
- The speaker acknowledges that even if he pleads for his friend’s release, the mistress will not comply. His heart is already trapped, making his attempt futile.
Conclusion
Sonnet 133 is a deeply emotional poem that explores the pain of love, jealousy, and betrayal. The speaker is trapped in a love triangle where his mistress enslaves not only him but also his dear friend. His plea for his friend’s freedom highlights the intensity of male friendship, which in some ways seems to rival (or surpass) his romantic devotion.
Ultimately, the poem paints love as a force of suffering rather than joy. The mistress is cruel, yet the speaker cannot break free from her hold. This makes Sonnet 133 one of the most despairing of the Dark Lady sonnets, showing how love can lead to self-destruction and helpless servitude.
