"Sonnet 138" was written by the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. The poem was probably written in the early 1590s—though it wasn't published until 1599, when it appeared in a pirated edition of Shakespearean poems, The Passionate Pilgrim. (It was later published in the 1609 edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets.) The poem dives into a difficult, complicated relationship. Both the speaker and the woman he loves lie to each other constantly—about small things, like the speaker's age, and bigger things, like whether his mistress is cheating on him. The two lovers end up in a paradoxical situation: they take comfort—at least, they try to take comfort—in each other's lies, instead of the love they feel for each other.
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The Full Text of “Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth”
1When my love swears that she is made of truth,
2I do believe her, though I know she lies,
3That she might think me some untutored youth,
4Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties.
5Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
6Although she knows my days are past the best,
7Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue:
8On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed.
9But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
10And wherefore say not I that I am old?
11Oh, love’s best habit is in seeming trust,
12And age in love loves not to have years told.
13 Therefore I lie with her and she with me,
14 And in our faults by lies we flattered be.
The Full Text of “Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth”
1When my love swears that she is made of truth,
2I do believe her, though I know she lies,
3That she might think me some untutored youth,
4Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties.
5Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
6Although she knows my days are past the best,
7Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue:
8On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed.
9But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
10And wherefore say not I that I am old?
11Oh, love’s best habit is in seeming trust,
12And age in love loves not to have years told.
13 Therefore I lie with her and she with me,
14 And in our faults by lies we flattered be.
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“Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth” Summary
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“Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth” Themes
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Truth, Lies, and Love
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth”
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Lines 1-4
When my love swears that she is made of truth,
I do believe her, though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutored youth,
Unlearnèd in the world’s false subtleties. -
Lines 5-8
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
Although she knows my days are past the best,
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue:
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed. -
Lines 9-12
But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
And wherefore say not I that I am old?
Oh, love’s best habit is in seeming trust,
And age in love loves not to have years told. -
Lines 13-14
Therefore I lie with her and she with me,
And in our faults by lies we flattered be.
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“Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth” Symbols
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Tongue
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“Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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End-Stopped Line
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Caesura
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Consonance
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Metaphor
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Polyptoton
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Pun
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Rhetorical Question
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Paradox
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“Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Made of Truth
- Untutored
- Unlearnèd
- Subtleties
- Past the Best
- Simply
- Credit
- Wherefore
- Unjust
- Seeming Trust
- Age
- Flattered
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth” Speaker
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“Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth”
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More “Sonnet 138: When my love swears that she is made of truth” Resources
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External Resources
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Sonnet 138 Read Aloud — Jamie Muffet recites "Sonnet 138."
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Shakespeare's Life — A detailed biography of Shakespeare from the Folger Shakespeare Library.
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Love Poetry in Renaissance England — Emily Mayne provides an introduction to the history of love poetry in England during the Renaissance.
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Shakespeare's Sonnets — An overview of Shakespeare's Sonnets from the British Library
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Shakespeare, Sexuality and the Sonnets — Aviva Dautch explores the Sonnets' complex relationship with sexuality at the British Library.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Shakespeare
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