That by this separation I may give That due to Thee, which Thou deserv'st alone. And that Thou teachest how to make one twain, Some idea of the personality of Shakespeare, and of Bacon's appreciation of him, is given in this stanza, addressed to Thy (Thought): "O, how thy worth with manners may I sing, is as if he had said, How can I praise his manners and speak the truth (Thou) which is uppermost in my nature? Shakespeare may have been a boor. If he praises himself, what does it amount to, now that he has virtually disclaimed the dramas, and no one can echo that praise? If he praises Shakespeare, that is simply to praise himself. For these reasons it is better they should live apart, and Bacon's name be unknown. He can then give to Shakespeare alone all the praise he deserves. Probably when writing this Bacon smiled ironically, for what praise did he deserve? This stanza was conceived in a humorous vein all the way through. After jeering at Shakespeare's manners, exposing the futility of attempting to praise himself, and the effect, as he realized it, of praising Shakespeare, and recommending their separate life that he may praise him singly as he deserves, he then says that he has during an hour of absence from work improved the "sour leisure" (the time so grudgingly taken), to fill it with "thoughts of love." The seeming meaning he has given to the thoughts has deceived or belied their real meaning, which was simply to ridicule the arrangement between himself and Shakespeare, "praising him here who doth hence remain." SONNET 40. Take all My Loves, My Love, yea, take them all; In this stanza Shakespeare is put in possession of his plays, and becomes virtually the author of them. "Take all My Loves, My Love" (Shakespeare now being adopted as one of his loves, he mentally as my love unites him to the plays, which he calls "My Love," and addresses him also by that endearing name, and under it invests him with the plays). In the next two lines he declares that Thou (Truth) has gained nothing by this transfer that he can call "true love." Shakespeare, though added to "My Love," is not to be recognized as any part of the truth in the plays designated by that title. He is simply added to it. By the next line, "All mine was Thine before Thou hadst this more" (he had devoted all his dramas to Truth before he added Shakespeare, "this more," to them). By giving to Shakespeare the credence of the plays, and thus uniting him to the volume of "My Love," which was composed of truth, Thou (Truth) had become possessed of him. If Thou (Truth) will receive him as "My Love," then he may use the plays, and it will be his own fault if he makes use of any portion of them that his judgment disapproves. He is the manager, and must adapt them for proper representation. "I do forgive Thy [Thought's] robbery, gentle thief, although Thou [Truth] steal Thee all my poverty (his only poverty in a literary sense was Shakespeare. He (Bacon) is satisfied with the arrangement, though he (Bacon) loses all that he might gain in honor and renown, by being known as their author). The changes he will make in them will be like a "lascivious grace, in whom all ill well shows" (like a well-dressed wanton; it will not be to his taste). "Kill me with spite" (but rather than quarrel about it he will not object). "We must not be foes" (because of any improprieties in this transaction). The eighth line reads "this self" in the quarto of 1609. This, as referring back to "this more" (Shakespeare) in the fourth line, is undoubtedly correct. All modern editions have it "Thyself." The understanding between Bacon and Shakespeare provided for the payment to Bacon of one half of the profits accruing from the plays, as appears in the thirty-seventh stanza. White says that "play-going was the favorite amusement of all the better and brighter part of the London public, gentle and simple." The profits which made Shakespeare rich must have greatly increased the meagre exchequer of Bacon. The arrangement was to continue until brighter days. came to Bacon, and he could from his profession or public office reap a revenue sufficient for his wants. If that time ever came, the entire property in the dramas, authorship and all, was to vest in Shakespeare, and the arrangement would be terminated. SONNET 41. Those pretty wrongs that liberty commits, Who lead Thee in their riot even there Where Thou art forc'd to break a twofold truth, Full authority is given to Shakespeare in this stanza to make such minor changes in the thought and expression of the dramas as may be deemed necessary. "Those pretty wrongs that liberty commits" (the little alterations you find it necessary to make for the purpose of adapting them to the stage, your own sense of propriety and grace), "Thy beauty and Thy years" (must dictate). "Temptation follows where Thou (Truth) art." Be careful not to belie the truth of the drama. Thou (Truth) can be easily "won" (preserved) or "assailed" (destroyed). "And when a woman woos" (the dramas, "My Love," are represented as a female throughout the poem, and the changes for purpose of representation, if any, are made because "My Love" (the dramas) wooed), "what woman's son will sourly leave her till he have prevailed?" (if the change is really necessary it may be made.) But as he believed he had adhered to the truth, he disliked any change, "Thou mightst my seat forbear." Your ideas of propriety and expression are crude and unpolished, and you will, he fears, mar the harmony of the play, and break a twofold truth: "Thy beauty [Thy thoughts] tempting her to Thee," and disfigure my work, "Thy beauty [My thoughts] being false to me," |