Shakespeare's Sonnets (1923) Yale/Text/Sonnet 40

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For other versions of this work, see Sonnet 40 (Shakespeare).

40

Take all my loves, my love, yea, take them all;
What hast thou then more than thou hadst before?
No love, my love, that thou mayst true love call;
All mine was thine before thou hadst this more. 4
Then, if for my love thou my love receivest,
I cannot blame thee for my love thou usest;
But yet be blam'd, if thou thyself deceivest
By wilful taste of what thyself refusest. 8
I do forgive thy robbery, gentle thief,
Although thou steal thee all my poverty;
And yet, love knows it is a greater grief
To bear love's wrong than hate's known injury. 12
Lascivious grace, in whom all ill well shows,
Kill me with spites; yet we must not be foes.

1–14 Cf. n.
5 if for: if because of (?), if instead of (?)
my love receivest: receivest the woman I love
6 for: because
8 By wilful taste . . . refusest; cf. n.
14 spites: injuries