William Shakespeare‘s Sonnet 45 is part of his celebrated sequence of 154 sonnets, and it directly continues the meditation begun in Sonnet 44. Together, these two sonnets form a conceptual pair wherein Shakespeare explores the metaphorical transformation of human emotion into elemental form, employing the classical theory of the four elements—earth, water, air, and fire. Sonnet 45, in particular, addresses the fleeting and restless nature of love and desire, represented by the elements of air and fire, in contrast to the heavy, grounding elements of earth and water in Sonnet 44.
This sonnet also reflects the poet’s deep emotional bond with the beloved (likely the “Fair Youth”), revealing longing, absence, and the physical toll of love. The sonnet blends Elizabethan poetic structure with Renaissance philosophical symbolism, capturing the tension between the body and spirit, passion and reason, presence and absence.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 45
The other two, slight air and purging fire,
Are both with thee, wherever I abide;
The first my thought, the other my desire,
These present-absent with swift motion slide.
For when these quicker elements are gone
In tender embassy of love to thee,
My life, being made of four, with two alone
Sinks down to death, oppressed with melancholy;
Until life’s composition be recured
By those swift messengers returned from thee,
Who even but now come back again, assured
Of thy fair health, recounting it to me:
This told, I joy; but then no longer glad,
I send them back again, and straight grow sad.
Structure and Tone of Sonnet 45
Structurally, Sonnet 45 follows the traditional Shakespearean sonnet form: three quatrains and a concluding rhymed couplet, composed in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
Tonally, the sonnet is melancholic and reflective, suffused with yearning. The speaker oscillates between joy and sorrow, determined by the imagined movements of air (thought) and fire (desire) as they travel to and from the beloved. This fluctuation mirrors the inner turmoil of emotional dependency—how love, when tied to absence, becomes both uplifting and wounding. There is also a philosophical undercurrent: the body and soul’s well-being is governed not just by natural elements, but by the presence or absence of the beloved.
Poetry Analysis
Lines 1–4:
The other two, slight air and purging fire,
Are both with thee, wherever I abide;
The first my thought, the other my desire,
These present-absent with swift motion slide.
Main Argument: The speaker identifies air and fire as the “other two” elements (after earth and water from Sonnet 44) and personifies them as parts of himself—his thought (air) and desire (fire)—that dwell with the beloved even when he is physically absent. These “quick” elements are mobile and volatile, unlike the heavy and inert earth and water.
Analysis: Shakespeare deftly uses elemental imagery to describe how his thoughts and passions are constantly with the beloved, even if he is not. “Slight air” and “purging fire” suggest both lightness and purification, indicating both the elevation and the torment of longing. The phrase “present-absent” introduces the paradox of love across distance: the speaker’s inner life is both detached from and engaged with the beloved. The use of “swift motion” emphasizes the agility and unrest of emotional and mental states.
Lines 5–8:
For when these quicker elements are gone
In tender embassy of love to thee,
My life, being made of four, with two alone
Sinks down to death, oppressed with melancholy;
Main Argument: When thought and desire leave him to be with the beloved, the speaker is left only with earth and water—his physical and emotional heaviness—which results in depression and spiritual lifelessness.
Analysis: The phrase “tender embassy” evokes a diplomatic mission of love, suggesting thought and desire are sentient agents on behalf of the speaker. Their absence leaves the speaker’s “life” incomplete, highlighting a classical belief in humoral balance: the four elements are needed for health and vitality. Their departure leads to a state of “melancholy,” reinforcing the sonnet’s deep sense of lack and emotional depletion. The juxtaposition of elemental harmony with emotional disarray reveals how love can destabilize the self.
Lines 9–12:
Until life’s composition be recured
By those swift messengers returned from thee,
Who even but now come back again, assured
Of thy fair health, recounting it to me:
Main Argument: The speaker experiences relief and restoration when his thoughts and desires return from the beloved, bringing news of their well-being. This return temporarily restores his elemental and emotional balance.
Analysis: The word “recured” (meaning healed or restored) suggests that the speaker is dependent on the return of these “messengers” to feel whole again. The use of medical and alchemical language (“life’s composition,” “recured”) implies that love’s effects are as physical as they are emotional. The speaker’s joy hinges entirely on the imagined feedback from the beloved—an idea that also explores how fantasy and hope sustain emotional life. The poetic voice suggests that his very vitality is bound to the beloved’s health and presence.
Lines 13–14 (Couplet):
This told, I joy; but then no longer glad,
I send them back again, and straight grow sad.
Main Argument: The momentary joy of reunion is instantly followed by sadness as the speaker sends his thoughts and desires back to the beloved. Love thus becomes a cyclical pattern of joy and sorrow.
Analysis: The couplet completes the emotional cycle. The verbs “joy,” “glad,” “sad”—all monosyllabic—create a stark and compressed emotional rhythm. The speed with which the speaker moves from joy to sorrow mirrors the swiftness of air and fire. This final twist underscores the painful paradox of love at a distance: comfort is always temporary, and longing is perpetual. The structure of repetition and reversal here embodies the instability of the speaker’s emotional state.
Conclusion
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 45 exemplifies his mastery of form and metaphor, offering a nuanced reflection on emotional absence, the psychology of love, and the interplay of thought, desire, and the body. Through the framework of the four classical elements, Shakespeare transforms internal emotional processes into a dramatic exchange between elemental forces. The sonnet ultimately presents a vision of love not as a constant but as a cycle of temporary fulfillment and renewed longing—a tension captured in the ever-moving dance of air and fire.
Related topic:
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 43: A Comprehensive Analysis