The strength of his rational mind is not diminishing the pains of his emotions. On the
             contrary, the speaker is losing his sanity as time progresses. In the past, perhaps, the
             speaker's rational thought processes allowed him to cope with failed romances. However,
             in the presence of this love for his dark mistress, all his logical mental abilities are
             overpowered. His rational mind, which he depends on for truth and sanity, has left him in
             the face of love. The torment of love has made it impossible for the speaker to make
             truthful, objective observations about his world ("Companion to" 43). In this poem,
             Shakespeare claims that it is love, not reason, that shapes one's perception of the world,
             for one's mind, the ideal and rational judgment-maker, is subject to and overwhelmed by
             the whims of emotion ("Companion to" 44). At the beginning of Sonnet 147, the speaker's
             love is described as a fever, but as the sonnet continues, the effects of love intensify.
             Towards the end of the poem, love has completely overwhelmed his mind, inducing him to
             become "frantic-mad (Line 10)." He continues, "My thoughts and my discourse as mad
             men's are,At random from the truth vainly expressed (Lines 10 and 11)." The language
             Shakespeare chooses further emphasizes the crazed effect love has had on the speaker's
             mind (Rowse, A Biography 72). The word "discourse", for instance, derives from Latin,
             meaning "to run about." The use of this word creates a clear image of a mad man running
             wild and uncontrolled. This love not only makes him go insane, it also blinds him from the
             truth (Rowse, A Biography, 74). He says, "For I have sworn thee fair and thought thee
             bright,Who art as black as hell, as dark as night (Lines 13 and 14) ." The speaker's
             logical mind knows that his woman is evil, yet his love for her blinds him and he sees her
             Love, then, is, for Shakespeare, a force
             ...