The Final Couplet

Shakespeare's Sonnet 87


Listen Later

Happy New Year! What better way to start 2025 than with a Shakespearean sonnet all about the end of a relationship.


Sonnet 87

Farewell! thou art too dear for my possessing,
And like enough thou know'st thy estimate,
The charter of thy worth gives thee releasing;
My bonds in thee are all determinate.
For how do I hold thee but by thy granting?
And for that riches where is my deserving?
The cause of this fair gift in me is wanting,
And so my patent back again is swerving.
Thy self thou gavest, thy own worth then not knowing,
Or me to whom thou gav'st it else mistaking;
So thy great gift, upon misprision growing,
Comes home again, on better judgement making.
   Thus have I had thee, as a dream doth flatter,
   In sleep a king, but waking no such matter.


...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Final CoupletBy Theo Cowan