Separation In Shakespeare's Sonnet 39

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 39 features a narrator who is speaking about his loved one or soulmate. Within the poem, the narrator is attempting come to terms with a possible separation from his loved one, or other half. Initially, the narrator seems to be accepting of the separation, however the sonnet takes a turn about half way through, after which the narrator tries to grapple with the idea of filling his alone time.

Phrases such as “divided live”, “separation”, and “absence, what a torment” portray images of longing. The narrator imagines what will become of his life once he and his lover go their separate ways (5-9). The sonnet paints an image of the bittersweet aspects of separation from one’s soulmate. The “sour leisure” refers

to the devastating emptiness and pain that the physical absence of his lover plagues him with. Contrastingly, the “sweet leave” can be viewed as the narrator’s appreciation for the extra time he will have to be alone with his thoughts, and his ability to reflect upon his feelings, especially feelings towards his partner (12).
The sonnet contains figurative language such as alliteration in the passages “worth with manners may”, “love lose”, and “so sweetly, dost deceive” (1-12). This repetition of sounds gives the sonnet a certain flow or rhythm, and allows the words to flow off of the readers’ lips with ease. The line “O absence, what a torment wouldst thou prove” is personification (9). The narrator personifies “absence”, and explains the pain and turmoil that is caused by the presence of absence. The “absence”, of course, is of the narrator’s lover. The use of personification portrays the absence as having a significant hold on, or power over the narrator. He is in agony. The personification is extended a few lines down with the line “And that thou teachest how to make one twain,” (13).
In the line “Even for this, let us divided live,” the use of the word “divided” seems peculiar (5).

It gives the impression that the narrator and his lover are not two, but one being, who is being split into two. This is perhaps plausible, however, as it is sometimes said that every soul is split in two, then destined to spend their lives in search of their other half, or soulmate, which seems to be representative of how the narrator feels towards his lover. The line “And our dear love lose name of single one” further establishes the sense of unity between the two, with the use of the word “our”, which signifies the sharing of something. Likewise, “lose name of single one” can be interpreted as two hearts becoming one (6). Another interesting choice is the use of the word “twain”, due to its double meaning, both of which are fitting in the poem (13). One meaning of the word is “separated”, which is symbolic of the lovers’ status, and the other meaning is “two”, which signifies that absence has allowed the lovers, who were formally one being, to split into two separate beings.

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 39 provides and interesting take on separation, and what it does to the heart and mind, as well as touches on both the drawbacks and the benefits of being without a loved one, at least through the eyes of the

narrator.