Sonnet 51: Thus Can My Love Excuse the Slow Offence
Thus can my love excuse the slow offence Of my dull bearer, when from thee I speed: From where thou art, why should I haste me thence? Till I return, of posting is no need. O, what excuse will my poor beast then find When swift extremity can seem but slow? Then should I spur, though mounted on the wind; In wingèd speed no motion shall I know. Then can no horse with my desire keep pace; Therefore desire, of perfect’st love being made, Shall neigh no dull flesh in his fiery race. But love, for love, thus shall excuse my jade: Since from thee going he went wilful-slow, Towards thee I’ll run, and give him leave to go.
Sonnet 51: Thus Can My Love Excuse the Slow Offence - form Summary
Sonnet Structure and Volta
This poem is a Shakespearean sonnet that uses the sonnet’s three quatrains and final couplet to stage a single conceit: the speaker’s desire compared to an unruly mount. Each quatrain escalates the metaphor—excuses for slowness, impossible speed, and rivalry between horse and desire—while the closing couplet delivers a pragmatic turn: the speaker will run back and let the horse go. The form organizes argument and delivers the rhetorical turn.
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