Hearts
The word "heart" shows up 6 times in this 14 line sonnet so it becomes one of the most dominant images in the poem. Unfortunately, the heart images we're working with here aren't the cute, paper, c...
"Slave to Slavery"
Hundreds of years before a certain pop star pranced around on stage in leather hot-pants and sang "I'm a Slave 4 U," cheesy poets everywhere were saying stuff like "Hey girl—I'm a slave to your l...
The Mistress's "Cruel Eye"
The speaker only mentions his mistress' "cruel eye" once in Sonnet 133, but it's a pretty striking image. Plus, women's eyes are always a big, big deal in love sonnets like this. (If a woman is pre...
Allusion to Christ's Crucifixion
At one point in the sonnet, our speaker's dramatic way with words conjures up an image of Christ's crucifixion. Wait. Why the heck would he do that in a poem about some torrid love triangle? Becaus...
Prison
You probably noticed that words like "prison," "ward," "bail," "jail," and "pent" show up all over the place between lines 9 and 12. What's up with all this imprisonment language? Well, the Speaker...