This is a short summary of Shakespeare sonnet 132. Continue reading for complete analysis and meaning in the modern text. For the complete list of 154 sonnets, check the collection of Shakespeare Sonnets with analysis. It is highly recommended to buy “The Monument” by Hank Whittemore, which is the best book on Shakespeare Sonnets.

Shakespeare Sonnet 132 (Original Text)

Thine eyes I love, and they, as pitying me,

Knowing thy heart torment me with disdain,

Have put on black, and loving mourners be,

Looking with pretty ruth upon my pain;

And truly, not the morning sun of heav’n

Better becomes the gray cheeks of the east,

Nor that full star that ushers in the ev’n

Doth half that glory to the sober west,

As those two mourning eyes become thy face.

O let it then as well beseem thy heart

To mourn for me, since mourning doth thee grace,

And suit thy pity like in every part.

Then will I swear beauty herself is black,

And all they foul that thy complexion lack.

–WIKI

Shakespeare Sonnet 132 Modern Text (Translation)

-via SparkNotes

Shakespeare Sonnet 132 Analysis

The poet addresses his mistress saying that he loves her eyes which seem to be pitying him “Thine eyes I love, and they, as pitying me,”. He knows that her heart torments him by regarding him unworthy “Knowing thy heart torment me with disdain,’ he compares her black eyes to funeral mourners looking at him lovingly “Have put on black, and loving mourners be,” with compassion as they know they cause him pain “Looking with pretty ruth upon my pain;”

He says the morning sun that seems to rise from heaven “And truly, not the morning sun of heav’n” doesn’t have the same effect on him in the dull eastern sky “Better becomes the gray cheeks of the east,” even the appearance of the planet Venus that marks the start of the evening “Nor that full star that ushers in the ev’n” doesn’t appear beautiful to him as it shines in the west “Doth half that glory to the sober west,”

As the two eyes of his mistress beautify her face “As those two mourning eyes becomes thy face” He wishes her heart will feel the same way as her eyes do “O let it then as well beseem thy heart” when they look at him with compassion as if in mourning for him “To mourn for me, since mourning doth thee grace” and by pitying him in every way, the look suits her and makes her appear more beautiful “And suit thy pity like in every part.

And for this he will swear that beauty itself is a dark feature “Then will I swear beauty herself is black” and all those who aren’t dark he will consider ugly “And all they foul that thy complexion lack.”