Shakespeare Sonnet 101: "O truant Muse, what shall be thy amends"

In sonnet 101, the speaker is again concocting a little piece of drama that seems to include a glowing yet deep back and forth between his muse and himself. They are not enemies, of course, but the clear and definite argument this speaker continues with his muse always provides the character of a bitter battle.

Even as he seems to be continuing to create the same drama time and time again, the speaker still offers new, fresh, entertaining, and interesting little dramas. As he chides his muse, the speaker allows the reader to experience a conflict that is imaginatively much more than an inner conflict, which ultimately, it certainly is.

Sonnet 101

O truant Muse, what shall be thy amends
For thy neglect of truth in beauty dy’d?
Both truth and beauty on my love depends;
So dost thou too, and therein dignified.
Make answer, Muse: wilt thou not haply say,
‘Truth needs no colour, with his colour fix’d;
Beauty no pencil, beauty’s truth to lay;
But best is best, if never intermix’d?’
Because he needs no praise, wilt thou be dumb?
Excuse not silence so; for ’t lies in thee
To make him much outlive a gilded tomb
And to be prais’d of ages yet to be.
Then do thy office, Muse; I teach thee how
To make him seem long hence as he shows now.

The speaker in sonnet 101 again addresses the muse directly, asking her to continue to accompany him on his journey in creating an enduring poetry to bestow on posterity.

First Quatrain: Addressing His Muse

O truant Muse, what shall be thy amends
For thy neglect of truth in beauty dy’d?
Both truth and beauty on my love depends;
So dost thou too, and therein dignified.

In sonnet 101, the speaker again is addressing his muse directly by appealing to her by name, "Muse." The speaker proclaims that "truth and beauty" depend upon his "love." As for that matter, the muse depends upon his love also, for in reality, it is the speaker who wills the muse into being. The speaker, in effect, creates a mystical being with whom to spar. Once again, he feigns his complaint regarding the Muse’s absence by calling her "truant."

The speaker not only creates the muse, but he also gives her substance through his conversations with her. It is through his wrangling with her that she is "therein dignified." He willingly gives her power in order to understand better that his own power originates from a Higher Source.

Second Quatrain: Commanding the Muse

Make answer, Muse: wilt thou not haply say,
‘Truth needs no colour, with his colour fix’d;
Beauty no pencil, beauty’s truth to lay;
But best is best, if never intermix’d?’

The speaker then begins to command the muse to answer him, but he, of course, will be putting the words into the muse’s mouth and qualifying her response, "wilt thou not haply say," that truth is ethereal and not tainted or stained by the hues of earth; therefore, "his colour" is "fix’d."

The speaker then continues by asserting that beauty requires "no pencil" in order to demonstrate truth; however, by narrating the truth well, the speaker presumes that his artistic talent will guarantee that truth will never be tangled up with any qualities that are beneath truth and beauty. This devoted speaker is able to intuit that he is correct in his assumptions; thus, he is elevating his belief from mere correctness to righteousness.

Third Quatrain: A Dramatic Pretense

Because he needs no praise, wilt thou be dumb?
Excuse not silence so; for ’t lies in thee
To make him much outlive a gilded tomb
And to be prais’d of ages yet to be.

In the third quatrain, the speaker continues his dramatic little pretense, as he gives the muse the power to "make him much outlive a gilded tomb / And to be prais’d of ages yet to be." Speaking of himself and his talent in the third person, he assigns to the Muse the capability of assisting in the future continuation and fame of his art.

The speaker discerns the quality of his abilities and thus recognizes that "he needs no praise." But he still expects the Muse to sing to him and not to make excuses for remaining dumb.

This speaker is a quite a task master. He knows what he wants, and he expects his muse to be as determined to create as he is. He also insists that the quality of the muse's inspiration be equal or better than the quality of his own abilities to absorb that inspiration.

The Couplet: Toward an Enduing Art

Then do thy office, Muse; I teach thee how
To make him seem long hence as he shows now.

In the couplet, the speaker then commands the muse to complete her assignment; he promises to assist by instructing the muse on "how / To make him seem long hence." He knows that his art will endure and thus chides the muse to join him in making sure it shines as brightly as they can create it.

Scholars and critics of Elizabethan literature have determined that the sequence of 154 Shakespeare sonnets may be classified into three thematic categories: (1) Marriage Sonnets 1-17; (2) Muse Sonnets 18-126, traditionally identified as the "Fair Youth"; and (3) Dark Lady Sonnets 127-154.

Marriage Sonnets 1-17

The speaker in the Shakespeare “Marriage Sonnets” pursues a single goal: to persuade a young man to marry and produce beautiful offspring. It is likely that the young man is Henry Wriothesley, the third earl of Southampton, who is being urged to marry Elizabeth de Vere, the oldest daughter of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.

Many scholars and critics now argue persuasively that Edward de Vere is the writer of the works attributed to the nom de plume, "William Shakespeare." For example, Walt Whitman, one of America's greatest poets has opined:

Conceiv'd out of the fullest heat and pulse of European feudalism — personifying in unparalleled ways the medieval aristocracy, its towering spirit of ruthless and gigantic caste, with its own peculiar air and arrogance (no mere imitation) — only one of the "wolfish earls" so plenteous in the plays themselves, or some born descendant and knower, might seem to be the true author of those amazing works — works in some respects greater than anything else in recorded literature.

For more information regarding Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, as the real writer of the Shakespearean canon, please visit The De Vere Society, an organization that is "dedicated to the proposition that the works of Shakespeare were written by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford."

Muse Sonnets 18-126 (Traditionally classified as "Fair Youth")

The speaker in this section of sonnets is exploring his talent, his dedication to his art, and his own soul power. In some sonnets, the speaker addresses his muse, in others he addresses himself, and in others he even addresses the poem itself.

Even though many scholars and critics have traditionally categorized this group of sonnets as the "Fair Youth Sonnets," there is no "fair youth," that is "young man," in these sonnets. There is no person at all in this sequence, with exception of the two problematic sonnets, 108 and 126.

Dark Lady Sonnets 127-154

The final sequence targets an adulterous romance with a woman of questionable character; the term “dark” likely modifies the woman’s character flaws, not her skin tone.

Three Problematic Sonnets: 108, 126, 99

Sonnet 108 and 126 present a problem in categorization. While most of the sonnets in the "Muse Sonnets" do focus on the poet's musings about his writing talent and do not focus on a human being, sonnets 108 and 126 are speaking to a young man, respectively calling him "sweet boy" and "lovely boy." Sonnet 126 presents an additional problem: it is not technically a "sonnet," because it features six couplets, instead of the traditional three quatrains and a couplet.

The themes of sonnets 108 and 126 would better categorize with the "Marriage Sonnets" because they do address a "young man." It is likely that sonnets 108 and 126 are at least partially responsible for the erroneous labeling of the "Muse Sonnets" as the "Fair Youth Sonnets" along with the claim that those sonnets address a young man.

While most scholars and critics tend to categorize the sonnets into the three-themed schema, others combine the "Marriage Sonnets" and the "Fair Youth Sonnets" into one group of "Young Man Sonnets." This categorization strategy would be accurate if the "Muse Sonnets" actually addressed a young man, as only the "Marriage Sonnets" do.

Sonnet 99 might be considered somewhat problematic: it features 15 lines instead of the traditional 14 sonnet lines. It accomplishes this task by converting the opening quatrain into a cinquain, with an altered rime scheme from ABAB to ABABA. The rest of the sonnet follows the regular rime, rhythm, and function of the traditional sonnet.

The Two Final Sonnets

Sonnets 153 and 154 are also somewhat problematic. They are classified with the Dark Lady Sonnets, but they function quite differently from the bulk of those poems.

Sonnet 154 is a paraphrase of Sonnet 153; thus, they carry the same message. The two final sonnets dramatize the same theme, a complaint of unrequited love, while outfitting the complaint with the dress of mythological allusion. The speaker employs the services of the Roman god Cupid and the goddess Diana. The speaker thus achieves a distance from his feelings, which he, no doubt, hopes will finally liberate him from the clutches of his lust/love and bring him equanimity of mind and heart.

In the bulk of the "dark lady" sonnets, the speaker has a been addressing the woman directly, or making it clear that what he is saying is intended for her ears. In the final two sonnets, the speaker is not directly addressing the mistress. He does mention her, but he is speaking now about her instead of directly to her. He is now making it quite clear that he is withdrawing from the drama with her.

Readers may sense that he has grown battle-weary from his struggle for the woman’s respect and affection, and now he has finally decided to make a philosophical drama that heralds the end of that disastrous relationship, announcing essentially, "I’m through."