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Exploring the Theme of Love in Sonnets 57 and 58 Essay

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Shakespeare’s sonnets are numbered in a sequential order and adjacent sonnets often have similar content. Throughout Shakespeare’s sonnets, he covers many subjects, such as interest in the life of a young man, his love for a young man, and his love for a dark haired woman. In sonnets 57 and 58, Shakespeare discusses how love is like slavery in its different manifestations. The object of the narrator’s love has a dominating power over the narrator, which controls him and guides his actions. Shakespeare shows in sonnets 57 and 58 that love can be displayed by using many different routes such as viewing love as a controlling force, exploring the theme of time and waiting in regards to love, and the question of the physical state of being of…show more content…
In sonnet 57, line five, the narrator says I don’t "dare", thereby again showing his reluctance to resist the efforts of the lover to control him and dominate him. In sonnet 58, line 9, the narrator says that the control over him by the lover is very strong, however he doesn’t seem to make any effort to resist these temptations and exertions of power, but rather resigns to them and accepts them as part of his life. The use of the word "tame" to describe himself in sonnet 58, line seven, suggests that the narrator doesn’t want to actively resist the domination by the lover but instead is resigning his will to the lover. As the narrator lets himself be enveloped in his love for the young man, he loses a part of his own willpower.

Time is also addressed in both of these sonnets. Both sonnets have images of the narrator waiting. In sonnet 58, line four has the narrator awaiting the leisurely needs of the lover, and again in line 13 "I am to wait" signifies the author waiting for the lover. In sonnet 57, line one the narrator says what else can I do but wait. In line six, the narrator refers to "watching the clock" or waiting, and also in line eleven he says "stay" which means wait. The purpose of waiting in these sonnets is to show that the narrator is subservient to the lover and
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