Notes for Shakespeare's Sonnet 57


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Shakespeare's
Sonnet
57

1. tend: wait.

4. require: demand.

5. chide: complain about.

6. my sovereign: i.e., my ruler; my master.

7. Nor think: i.e., nor dare to think. — This the beginning of the second part of a compound sentence that begins with "Nor dare to chide."

8. servant: (1) slave; (2) lover.

10. suppose: conjecture; guess.

11. nought: nothing.

12. save: except.  those: i.e., those who are in your company. —The sentence begins with a remark about "my jealous thought," so it is probably implied that the "those" might be other lovers.

13. true: constant.   will: pleasure.