Analysis Of Sonnet 80

Sonnet 80 Explication
In William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 80, he presents a speaker that reveals his affections and afflictions for a young man about whom Shakespeare often writes. The speaker begins by bringing up a rival poet that he has referred to before in previous sonnets. In the second quatrain, Shakespeare begins his conceit by comparing the speaker and his rival to boats on the young man’s “ocean” (5) of worth. The speaker then acknowledges the possibility that he may be of little worth in the eyes of his beloved when such a comparison is made, or when his words are portrayed side by side with those of a superior poet. Shakespeare presents his turn in line thirteen and ends the sonnet with a concluding couplet which captures the essence

In the first line, “your shallowest help will hold me up afloat” (9), the speaker feels as if he is simply sitting on the young man’s surface, and this is enough for him. In a sense, the speaker will take what he can get, but in the next line, “whilst he upon your soundless deep doth ride” (10), he is acknowledging that his adversary is discovering the deep intimacies within the man. Again the speaker alludes to the young man’s worth being unfathomable when he uses the word “soundless” (OED). Also in these two lines, Shakespeare adds a spondee to the end of line 10 that contrasts the iamb at the end of line 9. While the speaker is simply “afloat”, the spondee emphasizes the “ride” of his rival. The connotation allows the reader to imagine the “ride” as an experience of truly getting to know the man for whom they write, which naturally causes jealousy in the speaker. In the following line, “Or, being wracked, I am a worthless boat” (11), the speaker remains consistent with the theme of self-pity. He sees himself as being of no use and his words will have no effect when compared to those of his rival. Who he goes on to describe in the next line, “he of tall building and of goodly pride” (12), as having words that are well constructed and are something to be proud of. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the words

The second to last line, “for if he thrive, and I be cast away” (13), is a beautiful yet foreboding set up for the finale that follows. Moreover, the conceit remains even in this final part of the sonnet with the words “cast away”, much like nets are cast away from ships or words are “cast away” from the mouths of poets. And as the speaker moves to the final line, he succeeds in being seen as a hopeless lover by the reader. Line 14, “the worst was this: my love was my decay” captures the complete essence of every emotion the speaker is enduring throughout the sonnet. The use of a caesura by Shakespeare, allows the weight of the portrayed emotion to settle in the heart and mind of the reader. Regardless of the nagging frustration that his rivaling poet and his superior works cause, the speaker refuses to be silenced. Furthermore, it is not the battle with his opponent that ruins the speaker; yet, it is the love that he feels that causes him the most pain and will surly result in his ultimate decay or utter destruction