When my lover swears that she is made of truth

William Shakespeare- Sonnet 138

When my love swears that she is made of truth
I do believe her, though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutor'd youth,
Unlearned in the world's false subtleties.
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
Although she knows my days are past the best,
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue:
On both sides thus is simple truth suppress'd.
But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
And wherefore say not I that I am old?
O, love's best habit is in seeming trust,
And age in love loves not to have years told:

Therefore I lie with her and she with me,
And in our faults by lies we flatter'd be.

1. How old is the speaker? How old is his beloved? What is the nature of their relationship?

The speaker is older than his beloved, probably by a substantial amount if they feel the need to lie about.

2. How is the contradiction in line 2 to be resolved? In lines 5-6? Who is lying to whom?

The contradiction in line 2, and later in lines 5-6, are resolved by the characters denial of them. The speaker knows that his love is lying to him, and chooses to ignore it. The beloved knows that she is lying to herself, but chooses not to acknowledge it. Tye two are lying to themselves.


3. How do "simply" (7) and "simple" (8) differ in meaning/ The words "vainly" (5), "habit" (11), "told" (12), and "lie" (13) all have double denotative meanings. What are they?

The speaker is "simply" choosing to ignore his beloved's lies. He does this by blaming her tongue, which supresses "simple truth"--things that should be apparent (like the speakers age), and easily accepted.

"Vainly" could mean "with a high opinion of one's self," or "desperately, with little-to-no hope of succeeding.

"Told" here can mean "counted, or accounted for," which would relate back to the speaker's advanced age. It can also refer
to the speaker and his beloved's desire to not talk about his age, as it would undo all of their lies.

In the poem, "lie" means not only to not tell the truth, but to lie next to one another, as lovers do.


4. What is the tone of the poem--that is, the attitude of the speaker toward his situation? Should line 11 be taken as an expression of (a) wisdom, (b) conscious rationalization, or (c) self-deception? In answering these questions, consider both the situation and the connotations of all the important words beginning with "swears" (1) and ending with "flattered" (14).