Sonnet 143 by William Shakespeare: Longing and Despair

Explore Sonnet 143 by William Shakespeare, a poignant reflection on unfulfilled longing and despair in love. In this sonnet, Shakespeare portrays the speaker's yearning for intimacy with the beloved, juxtaposed with the agony of separation and unattainability. The poet delves into themes of unrequited love, emotional turmoil, and the bittersweet nature of longing.

Sonnet 143:

Unthrifty loveliness, why dost thou spend
Upon thyself thy beauty's legacy?
Nature's bequest gives nothing but doth lend,
And being frank she lends to those are free.
Then, beauteous niggard, why dost thou abuse
The bounteous largess given thee to give?
Profitless usurer, why dost thou use
So great a sum of sums, yet canst not live?
For having traffic with thyself alone,
Thou of thyself thy sweet self dost deceive.
Then how, when nature calls thee to be gone,
What acceptable audit canst thou leave?
Thy unused beauty must be tombed with thee,
Which, used, lives th' executor to be.

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