Shakespsear Sonnet 87

In the first quatrain, the poet unmistakably bids farewell to the young man. “Farewell, thou are too dear for my possession, And like enough thou know’st thy estimate. The charter of thy worth gives thee releasing; My bonds in thee are all determinate.” The word dear can be interpreted as he young man being too precious, too costly, and perhaps too damaging for the poet to continue to love. Lines 2-4 convey the idea that Shakespeare’s love wasn’t good enough for the young man and that all “bonds”, or contracts, whether they be legal, financial, or emotional, are terminated.

The first quatrain also presents several symbolic images. Line 1 almost seems paradoxical, something

Shakespeare used very often his is poems and play. The paradox can been see as if Shakespeare were saying that his love is so strong for the young man that he would not be able to have the young man if given the opportunity. The third and fourth lines revert to a legal impression, where Shakespeare uses the words “charter” and “bonds.”

The couplet reaffirms the poem, seen by the opening word of “Thus” in the beginning of the couplet. “Thus have I had thee, as a dream doth flatter, In sleep a king, but waking no such matter.” This couplet leaves little uncertainty that Shakespeare no longer tries to fool himself about his relationship with the young man. Shakespeare then concludes there are two paths, fantasy and reality, and neither sufficed with the feelings he experienced for the boy, for fantasy isn’t real, and reality illustrates the abyss that exists between himself and the young man. The final line explains how in sleep, Shakespeare can possess all the royalties of the young man, but upon waking up, the privileges cease and reality sets in.

In the third quatrain, Shakespeare’s eyes are apparently opened up to the reality of his relationship with the young man. “Thy self thou gavest, thy own worth then not knowing, Or me to whom thou gav'st it else mistaking; So thy great gift, upon mispri

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