Be wise as thou art cruel; do not press
My tongue-tied patience with too much disdain,
Lest sorrow lend me words and words express
The manner of my pity-wanting pain.
If I might teach thee wit, better it were,
Though not to love, yet, love, to tell me so,
As testy sick men, when their deaths be near,
No news but health from their physicians know.
For if I should despair, I should grow mad,
And in my madness might speak ill of thee,
Now this ill-wresting world is grown so bad,
Mad slanderers by mad ears believèd be.
    That I may not be so, nor thou belied,
    Bear thine eyes straight, though thy proud heart go wide.

Added: Feb 20 2003 | Viewed: 615 times | Comments (0)

Poet: William Shakespeare
Poem: 140. Sonnet 140: Be wise as thou art cruel; do not press
Volume: The Sonnets
Year: Published/Written in 1609
There are no comments for this poem. Why not be the first one to post something about it?

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Sonnet 140: Be wise as thou art cruel; do not press, has not yet been commented on. You can click here to be the first to post a comment about it. Of course you can also always discuss poems by William Shakespeare with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!