Wednesday, August 19, 2015

In sonnet 138, could you comment the development of wit and explain what formal elements Shakespeare uses to develop it?Hello!!! I need help! I...

You already have plenty of answers, but I'll add this anyway since I've prepared it....



The wit in Sonnet 138 is in the last four lines. The first lines establish truth. It is a poignant sort of truth: She is young and he old. She tells him lies about how youthful he is (wherefore says she not that she is unjust), and he quietly accepts her falsehoods (Simply, I credit her false-speaking tongue).

The last four lines answer why this situation stands as it does and is where wit is introduced into this melancholy sonnet. Shakespeare uses plays on word meanings and contrasted word meanings that build verbal irony whereby wit is created. As a non-native English speaker, you'll want to use your dictionary to follow Shakespeare's thoughts.

First are plays on word meanings. And age in love, loves not to have years told employs two meanings of love and plays them against each other. The first is love as in to be in love with another. The second is love as in likes: [Gloss] And when an old man is in love, he likes not to have his age mentioned or his years counted. Then, Therefore I lie with her, and she with me, plays with two meanings of lies. The first meaning is in context with the topic, they tell each other falsehoods. The second is in context with a romantic affair; they lie together in physical intercourse.

Along with plays on words, Shakespeare uses contrasting meanings.  O love's best habit is in seeming trust, employs two such word meaning contrasts. The first is seeming trust. In this context, seeming implies that the trust referred to is the appearance of trust and not the fact of trust (it could also be a word play and mean befitting trust). The other contrast comes from the combination of best habit (good habit, well held habit) with seeming trust: Trust that is appearance alone and not fact can't be that much of a good habit....  

The next instance of contrasted meanings is And in our faults by lies we flattered be. Flattery is most often used in its sense of praise or complimentary remark, though, in a word play, it also means to get your way by catering to someone's vanity or foibles. The contrast of meaning lies in the idea that faults could be a subject of compliment or praise (praised faults could be a means of getting your own way, though). This line presents a double contrast by also saying that lies can be praise or complimentary; lies are not usually viewed favorably.

In summary, the last four lines alternate between lines emphasizing word plays (And age in love, loves not to have years told, and Therefore I lie with her, and she with me,) and lines emphasizing contrasts of meaning (O love's best habit is in seeming trust and And in our faults by lies we flattered be). These devices produce verbal irony (what is said is not what is meant). Plays on words are witty because your mind expects the obvious meaning and then recalls the other, deeper meaning igniting sudden recognition and appreciation of adroit word usage. Contrasts in meaning (flattering faults, seeming trust etc.) are witty because they awaken a recognition of a deeper meaning in the idea being discussed, such as the illusive nature of trust in a romance. Verbal irony is witty because two opposing ideas are presented in one word, phrase, sentence or idea.

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