Sonnet CXXXV

Notes by William J. Rolfe, Shakespeare's Sonnets (New York, 1905), Internet Archive scan

1. Line 1 Will. "In this sonnet, in the next, and in 143 the quarto marks by italics and capital W the play on words, Will William [Shakspere], Will William, the Christian name of Shakspere's friend [? Mr. W. II. j, and Will = desire, volition. Here ' Will in overplus ' means Will Shakspere, as the next line shows, ' more than enough am I.' The first ' Will ' means desire (but as we know that his lady had a husband, it is possible that he also may have been a ' Will,' and that the first ' Will ' here may refer to him besides meaning ' desire ' ) ; the second ' Will ' is Shakspere's friend" (Dowden). Halliwell-Phillipps remarks that in the time of S. quibbles of this kind were common, and he cites as an example the riddle on the name William in the Book of Riddles to which Slender refers in .)/. W. i. 1. 209 : — 236 " The li. Riddle. — My lovers will I am content for to fulfill : Within this rime his name is framed; Tell me then how he is named ? Solution. — His name is William ; for in the first line is will, and in the beginning of the second line is / am, and then put them both together, and it maketh William." This was a very popular book of the time, mentioned as early as 1586. The edition quoted was published in 1629. Tyler quotes an interesting parallel to these " Will " sonnets in the Dedication by John Davies to his Select Second Husband for Sir Thomas Overbury's Wife, now a Matchless Widow, 1606. It is specially appropriate as being addressed to " William, Earle ot Pembroke " : — " Wit and my Will (deere Lord) were late at strife, To whom this Bridegroome I for grace might send Who Bride was erst the happiest husband's wife That ere was haplesse in his Friend, and End. Wit, with it selfe, and with my Will, did warre, For Will {good-Will) desir'd it might be YOU, But Wit found fault with each particular It selfe had made ; sith YOU were // to view," etc. Cf. also the Epigram addressed to Shakspere by Davies : — "Some say, good Will (which I, in sport, do sing), Hadst thou not plaid some kingly parts in sport," etc.
2. Line 5 Spacious. A trisyllable, like gracious below. 9. The sea, etc. Cf. T. N. ii. 4. 103 : — " But mine is all as hungry as the sea, And can digest as much ; " and Id. i. 1. 11 : — " O spirit of love ! how quick and fresh art thou, That, notwithstanding thy capacity Receiveth as the sea," etc.
3. Line 13 Let no unkind, no fair beseechers kill. A puzzling line, as it stands. Schmidt is doubtful whether unkind is a substantive, and, if so, whether it means " unnaturalness," or "aversion to the works of love." Palgrave paraphrases thus : " Let no unkindness, no fair-spoken rivals destroy me." Dowden says that if unkind is a substantive it must mean " unkind one (that is, his lady)," as in Daniel's Delia, 2d Sonnet : "And tell th' Unkind how dearly I have lov'd her." He adds that possibly no fair may mean " no fair one ; " but suggests that perhaps we should print the line thus : " Let no unkind ' Xo ' fair beseechers kill ; " that is, " let no unkind refusal kill fair beseechers." This strikes me as a very happy solution of the enigma, and I have been strongly tempted to adopt it in my text. Tyler approves it, but would read "your" for "fair." Herford intended to adopt it, as his note shows, but accidentally neglected to insert it in his text, which is the same as mine.