Return to Shakespeare's Sonnet 133 |
1.
beshrew: to invoke evil upon, to wish (one) all that is bad, to invoke a curse on; to curse, objurgate, or blame greatly, as the cause of misfortune. Obsolete.
2.
it: mistress' heart.
5.
thy cruel eye: the cruel eye of the disdainful mistress was a traditional motif.
6.
my next self: my dearest friend. harder: more securely. engross'd: monopolized.
8.
cross'd: afflicted; tried.
9.
steel bosom's ward: the prison cell of your hard heart.
10.
bail: liberate by suffering in its place.
11.
keeps me: is my jailor; i.e., also perhaps the one who loves me best. his guard: my friend's guardhouse.
12.
rigor: an act or instance of harsh inflexibility, severity, or cruelty; a severe or injurious action or proceeding; i.e., torture.
13.
pent: imprisoned.
14.
perforce: forcibly; necessarily.