Sonnet 50 :: essays research papers

William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 50" ,on first read, is the story of a man on a sad journey, leaving a loved one and riding a horse that seems more reluctant to go than he does. Upon second evaluation one must ask, why would it pain the horse to leave? The answer is that the horse represents the writers heart. The trudging journey in the sonnet is a metaphor for the speakers grief and pain of parting with someone he loves. In stanzas 1-4, the speaker's problem is brought to light. For some unknown reason, the speaker cannot be with his friend any longer and must move on. He says that his journey's end will be when he can say to himself with no pain, "Thus far the miles are measur'd from thy friend!" If he can reach that point, his grief will truly be over. The beast that he rides, which would most likely be a horse, is introduced in stanzas 5-8. The horse "plods" along slowly as if, "by some instinct" it knows that the speaker doesn't really want to leave. The speaker "lov'd not speed, being made from thee." "Thee" refers to the person the speaker is parting with. The horse is, in a sense, the speaker's heart, reluctant to keep moving, although it must bear his grief. The speaker, in stanzas 9-12, frequently gets frustrated and tries to force himself on, as shown by the "bloody spur" which indicates repeated use. The groan that the beast makes from the spurring is "more sharp to me[the speaker] than spurring to his[the beast's] side". The more the speaker tries to force himself along, the worse his pain. Knowing this, in stanzas 13-14, the speaker says, "My grief lies onward, and my joy behind." He is leaving what makes him happy, therefore, he will be sad.