Shakespeare‘s Sonnet 122 is one of the poet‘s later works, a deeply personal reflection on love, memory, and the enduring nature of affection. In this sonnet, Shakespeare addresses the theme of memory and the importance of love that transcends the need for physical tokens or material gifts. The speaker’s philosophical rumination challenges the idea that love must be preserved through physical representations like gifts, instead suggesting that love’s true value lies in its permanence within the mind and heart. This essay provides a detailed examination of the sonnet’s structure, tone, and thematic elements, analyzing the poem line by line.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 122
Thy gift, thy tables, are within my brain
Full charactered with lasting memory,
Which shall above that idle rank remain
Beyond all date, even to eternity—
Or, at the least, so long as brain and heart
Have faculty by nature to subsist;
Till each to razed oblivion yield his part
Of thee, thy record never can be missed.
That poor retention could not so much hold,
Nor need I tallies thy dear love to score;
Therefore to give them from me was I bold,
To trust those tables that receive thee more.
To keep an adjunct to remember thee
Were to import forgetfulness in me.
The Structure and Tone of Sonnet 122
The sonnet adheres to the traditional Shakespearean form, consisting of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter. It follows the ABABCDCDEFEFGG rhyme scheme typical of Shakespeare’s sonnets. This structure allows for a natural progression of ideas, building toward a final resolution in the concluding rhymed couplet. The tone of the poem is reflective and resolute, carrying a sense of intimacy and seriousness. The speaker is clearly addressing a loved one, yet the poem is not merely about a romantic connection; it also explores the more intellectual and philosophical aspects of memory, love, and identity.
Analysis of Sonnet 122
Lines 1-4
“Thy gift, thy tables, are within my brain
Full charactered with lasting memory,
Which shall above that idle rank remain
Beyond all date, even to eternity—”
In the opening quatrain, Shakespeare begins by addressing the recipient’s “gift,” referring to the love or affection bestowed upon him. This gift is not a tangible one, like an object or a material token, but rather something far more profound: a gift inscribed within the speaker’s mind. The metaphor of “tables” here alludes to the idea of memory, as tables were historically used for recording information. The memory of the lover’s gift is imprinted in the speaker’s mind, “full charactered with lasting memory,” meaning that the love will remain indelibly etched in his consciousness.
The speaker insists that this memory will transcend time (“beyond all date”), suggesting that it will endure not only through his life but also into eternity. The implication here is that, unlike physical gifts which decay or fade, the love the speaker holds will remain immune to the ravages of time. This enduring nature of love contrasts with the “idle rank” of temporary things, elevating the memory to a higher, eternal status.
Lines 5-8
“Or, at the least, so long as brain and heart
Have faculty by nature to subsist;
Till each to razed oblivion yield his part
Of thee, thy record never can be missed.”
In the second quatrain, the speaker continues to explore the idea of memory’s permanence. He suggests that the memory of his lover will persist for as long as his mind and heart can function. The phrase “as long as brain and heart / Have faculty by nature to subsist” emphasizes that this memory will last as long as the speaker remains mentally and emotionally alive.
The idea of “razed oblivion” indicates the eventual decay of both the speaker’s body and mind, but even in death, the lover’s “record”—the memory of them—will not be forgotten. This reinforces the notion that love, unlike physical tokens or gifts, is immune to the passage of time, even death. The lover’s memory is presented as eternal, resisting oblivion.
Lines 9-12
“That poor retention could not so much hold,
Nor need I tallies thy dear love to score;
Therefore to give them from me was I bold,
To trust those tables that receive thee more.”
In the third quatrain, Shakespeare shifts focus to the futility of physical symbols of love. The phrase “poor retention” refers to the idea that human memory is limited and fragile, unable to hold onto material representations of love as effectively as it can retain emotional bonds. The speaker rejects the need to “score” or record the lover’s love through physical tokens such as “tallies” or written notes. He is confident that the “tables” of his mind, which have already recorded the memory of his lover, will serve as a more lasting and trustworthy repository of that love.
This shift emphasizes the speaker’s belief that material tokens, like gifts or mementos, are unnecessary in expressing or preserving love. The act of giving these items is portrayed as unnecessary because the true essence of love resides in the mind and heart, which are more reliable than any physical object.
Lines 13-14
“To keep an adjunct to remember thee
Were to import forgetfulness in me.”
In the final couplet, the speaker concludes with a strong statement about the futility of external reminders. To keep “an adjunct”—a physical token or reminder—would be to invite forgetfulness. This paradoxical statement suggests that by relying on material objects to remember someone, the speaker would actually be diminishing the importance of the memory itself. The implication is that the true value of love is internal, bound to the emotional and mental faculties of the individual, rather than dependent on external reminders.
The closing lines further reinforce the central theme of the poem: that love, when deeply internalized, requires no external object to preserve it. The act of remembering is so deeply embedded within the speaker that anything external would be superfluous and potentially detrimental to the very essence of that memory.
Conclusion
Sonnet 122 encapsulates Shakespeare’s meditation on the impermanence of material gifts versus the permanence of emotional and mental connections. Through the metaphors of memory and “tables,” Shakespeare explores the idea that true love, once engraved in the mind and heart, transcends the need for physical tokens. The poem is a powerful reflection on the enduring nature of affection, emphasizing that the most significant form of remembrance is internal, residing in the brain and heart, rather than in the material world. The clarity of the argument, combined with the thoughtful use of metaphor and structure, demonstrates Shakespeare’s profound understanding of love’s intangible and eternal qualities.
