The Silent Sacrifices of Love
Can comfort be found in falsities? Can security be attained through lies? Can one truly sustain a relationship based on deceit? In Shakespeare's sonnet When my love swears that she is made of truth, the speaker portrays a less poetic illustration of love through a description of his own involvement with a younger woman, and he demonstrates that love is not a picture perfect romance, but rather a relationship where two people make silent sacrifices for the good of the other person. Through his assessment of their relationship, he not only reveals his lover's true character, but he also unknowingly unveils the secret aspects of his own character. Both of them are aware that their love is essentially based on the front they put on in order to protect each other...she pretends not to be "unjust" while he pretends not to be "old." It also becomes evident, however, that they consciously accept each other's distortions of the truth not only to comfort each other, but also to comfort themselves and maintain sec
Because he seemingly accepts her distorted state of honesty while she seemingly accepts his distorted state of youthfulness, "on both sides. In effect, he expects that this act of innocence would somehow cast a youthful shadow on his old age. The speaker desperately tries to exhibit a youth, which both he and his lover know he no longer possesses since his "days are past the best. But since they both recognize the reality of their situation, the games they play can't be considered lies, but rather sacrifices they make for sake of their love. : " I do believe her, though I know she lies"; "she knows my days are past the best"; "in our faults by lies we flattered be"). She knows that he is "old" just as he knows that she is "unjust," but they pretend to think otherwise, and their relationship would in fact be a farce if they both weren't aware of the games they were playing. " Given that he obviously can't do anything to change his physical appearance, he tries to compensate for his age by altering his personality. By leaving the obvious unsaid, both the speaker and his lover are able to maintain their dignity and security in the relationship. He "credit[s] her false-speaking tongue" and pretends to believe her obviously false claims of truthfulness, with the hopes that this ostensible naivete would give him the persona of the "untutored youth" that he yearns for. Rather, they consciously indulge one another's false notions out of love for the other person, demonstrating that "love's best habit is in seeming trust. By explaining the hard work that goes into maintaining a relationship, he brings down to earth the fairy-tale notion of love that is usually glorified in poetry, and he portrays love in a very realistic light. So in essence, the speaker is not describing the falsities in their relationship as a reason for its failure or even in anticipation of a future break-up.
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Acceptance Essays
