TH’EXPENSE OF SPIRIT –W. Shakespeare – Analysis

‘Th’expense of spirit’ is one of Shakespeare’s sonnets. The title refers to the first line of the sonnet: it is organised into three quatrains (rhymed ABAB  CDCD  EFEF) and a final couplet, following the rhyme-scheme GG. It is composed of fourteen lines  so it follows the Elizabethan model.

The sonnet can be divided into four sections: in the first one the poet gives a definition of LUST, the main theme of the composition. It is described as an extreme and strong sexual desire: Shakespeare uses many different words to explain what ‘lust’ means according to him. He writes about his personal experience, and he communicates a negative and cruel idea of lust: he states that, on one hand, people look for lust, because they try to satisfy their desire, on the other hand, after consuming lust, man recognises that it is merely a ‘dream’, an illusion that comes quickly to an end. Therefore, he hates it.

The second section is a summary of this particular process: men lose their minds because of desire, before they want it extremely, but once theyget i, theyt hate lust until becoming mad. In the third part the poet presents a contrast between desire and hate, saying that the second one takes place when desire has been consumed. Finally, he gives a negative conclusion,  stating that people know everything about lust but they can’t escape it/ avoid it.

Shakespeare describes lust as a drug or a poison: it makes men lose their minds, and it hurts the spirit--> harmful, dangerous, cruel. He who follows lust is supposed to become mad: it is as a form of madness and disease. No one minds about the consequences caused by lust: the human being KNOWS it is like a hell, but he follows his instinct anyway.