Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- The speaker sure seems concerned about what other people think about his relationship with "you." Does this make him excessively self-absorbed, or is he just being realistic about the nature of human relationships?
- Compared to other Shakespeare sonnets, Sonnet 75 has very little nature imagery (arguably just line 2). How does this affect the meaning of the sonnet?
- If you were the "you" the poem is addressed to, how would you feel after reading it? Why do you think so?
- Would you classify Sonnet 75 as a love poem?
- Most Shakespearean sonnets divide up their ideas in accordance with their rhyme scheme: one main idea in each of the three quatrains, and then a couplet that sums things up and adds a new twist. (For more on quatrains and couplets, check out "Form and Meter.") Sonnet 75, however, follows a different pattern: one idea gets introduced in the first two lines, then a new idea (the miser) takes over from Line 3 to Line 8, then yet another new idea (the glutton) dominates from Line 9 until the end. How might this pattern help Shakespeare get across what he's trying to say?