Simile in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 143

【Abstract】： Sonnet 143 is one of Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets. In this sonnet， Shakespeare compares the relationship of the dark lady， the speaker and the young man with the relationship of a housewife， a baby and a featured creature. The simile illuminates the complex relationship vividly and amusingly， and it also shows the central idea of this sonnet.

【Key Words】： simile； Shakespeare’s sonnet； Sonnet 143

Shakespeare’s Sonnets includes 154 sonnets， which could be divided into two parts. The first 126 sonnets are addressed to a young man， while the rest are to “the dark lady”. Sonnet 143 is one of the second group. In this sonnet， the speaker has found out the dark lady has an affair with his friend， the young man. Though that makes him so tortured， he still determines to forgive her. The simile presented in this sonnet is drawn from daily life. Shakespeare uses the simile of housewife， baby and a feathered creature to show the relationship between the three people and to express that the speaker is willing to forgive the dark lady as a baby could forgive his mother.

“A simile is distinguishable from a metaphor because it is introduced by ‘like’ with nouns and ‘as’ with clauses” [1]. A simile compares a subject with something very similar to show its characteristics vividly. In sonnet 143， the word “as” in the first quatrain indicates the rhetorical device used here is simile， not metaphor：

Loe as a carefull huswife runnes to catch，

One of her fethered creatures broake away，

Sets downe her babe and makes an swift dispatch

In pursuit of the thing she would have stay： （1st quatrain）

Whilst her neglected child holds her in chace，

Cries to catch her whose busie care is bent

To follow that which flies before her face：

Not prizing her poore infants discontent；[2] （2nd quatrain）

The first two quatrains portray a funny and humorous picture. A feathered creature flies away and a housewife runs to catch it but leaves her baby behind. The baby is crying to run after her， while she never notices that， because all she wants is to catch the feathered creature which tries to get rid of her. The “as” in the first line points out that there are similarities between the relationship of the three people （the dark lady， the speaker and the young man） and the relationship of the three images （the housewife， the baby and the feathered creature）： the dark lady is like the housewife chasing the young man while the speaker is like the baby who runs after her； they are chasing each other as the three images do. It can be also verified by the next quatrain.

So runst thou after that which flies from thee，

Whilst I thy babe chace thee a farre behind，

But if thou catch thy hope turne back to me：

And play the mothers part kisse me， be kind. （3rd quatrain）

So will I pray that thou maist have thy Will，

If thou turne back， and my loude crying still.[2] （the couplet）

In the first two lines of the third quatrain， the speaker talks to the dark lady. He explains she is like the housewife who is running after the young man， but the young man does not belong to her， because he flies from her just like the feathered creature does， while the speaker himself belongs to her all the time， for he is always behind her like the baby to his mother. So Shakespeare uses the simile vividly to make clear the relationship between the speaker， the dark lady and the young man.

The last 2 lines of the third quatrain and the couplet express the idea that if the dark lady is willing to turn back， the speaker is going to forgive her. In this part， the poet continues to adopt the simile of housewife and baby. For the mother who is chasing the feathered creature， she is remiss in taking care of her baby， so when she gets what she wants， she needs to turn back to her baby and do what a mother should do. So is the dark lady. Though she is unfaithful to the speaker， he still hopes that she could play the mother’s part after she gets the young man. From the four lines we can guess the dark lady may be so important to the speaker. Even though she has an affair with the speaker’s best friend， he is still willing to forgive her. He shows his wish that if she catches her hope， she can turn back to him and be kind to him. The simile used here is helpful to express the thoughts of the speaker. As a baby could easily forgive his or her mother， the speaker can also make concessions for the cherished relationship with the dark lady.

The simile drawn from trivial things in daily life illuminates the complex relationship vividly and amusingly. The reason why the author use “amusingly” here is that as readers we can feel the simile is humorous. Shakespeare writes these funny comparisons to make us feel that the speaker is talking about a serious thing in a relaxed tone. The love affair of his mistress and his friend surely makes the speaker feel painful， but he discusses it as if he is cracking a joke. He intends to use a relaxed atmosphere to persuade his mistress to come back， even though she is unfaithful. Therefore， the similes in sonnet 143 are not only an expression of the relationship between the three person， but also a method to show the central idea of the whole sonnet.

參考文獻：

[1] Edgar Roberts， Henry Jacobs. Literature： An Introduction to Reading and Writing [M]. Prentice-Hall， Inc， 1989.

[2] William Shakespeare . Shake-speares Sonnets： Never Before Imprinted [M]. Thomas Thorpe， 1609.