Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head
To work my mind, when body's work's expired:
For then my thoughts--from far where I abide--
Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,
Looking on darkness which the blind do see:
Save that my soul's imaginary sight
Presents thy shadow to my sightless view,
Which, like a jewel hung in ghastly night,
Makes black night beauteous, and her old face new.
Lo! thus, by day my limbs, by night my mind,
For thee, and for myself, no quiet find.
This sonnet was very interesting to me in terms of meaning after I had annotated it. This sonnet, like many others, were directed to a specific person. Basically, to me it means that he was always a tired many, physically by day, and mentally by night. He had personified night as a women, saying as the sun went down the face of night became beautiful and young once again. But as he waited for night to fall he also had a very tiring day, both waiting and working. With the stress of both these things on his body and mind, he couldn't find any peace and just relax.
I thought at first this sonnet was about a woman, describing her as beautiful as night in his sleep, but later on I realized that this was only his imagination at work. For me it is strange to think of why someone would waste so much thought on this person when she doesn't exist. It was as if he was trying to bring this person to life through his dreams, the amount of thought he was using in the process has left him depleted for his apparently draining lifestyle.
I would think that this is still a beautiful poem, changing the focus of his writing to something else for a change. It was in truth somewhat difficult to depict his meanings but in the end it is just a dedication to his dreams, which I can somewhat understand. Reading this sonnet gave me a better understanding of Shakespearean sonnets and helped me find a focus for my own sonnet.
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