Poetry · Chapter
Sonnet 143 explained
The speaker compares the beloved's pursuit of other desires to a housewife chasing a runaway chicken while neglecting her own child, and pleads for the beloved to turn back and show kindness.
What happens
The speaker compares the beloved's pursuit of other desires to a housewife chasing a runaway chicken while neglecting her own child, and pleads for the beloved to turn back and show kindness.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the dramatic climax because the speaker reaches an emotional and psychological peak of self-aware torm…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Love and Desire
The speaker's unrequited love and longing for the beloved's attention.
- Truth and Deception
The beloved's pursuit of false hopes while neglecting true affection.
Characters to notice
- William Shakespeare
The speaker who compares himself to a neglected child.
- Youth
The beloved who chases after fleeting desires.
Key passages
“Lo! as a careful housewife runs to catch One of her feather’d creatures broke away, Sets down her babe and makes all swift dispatch In pursuit of the thing she would have stay, Whilst her neglected child holds her in chase, Cries to catch her whose busy care is bent To follow that which flies before her face, Not prizing her poor infant’s discontent;”
Just as a diligent housewife chases a runaway chicken, setting down her baby to pursue what she wants to keep, while the neglected child runs after her, crying to catch her attention, but she ignores her baby's unhappiness,
The speaker uses a domestic metaphor to describe the beloved's neglect.
“So runn’st thou after that which flies from thee, Whilst I thy babe chase thee afar behind; But if thou catch thy hope, turn back to me, And play the mother’s part, kiss me, be kind:”
So you chase after what flees from you, while I, like your baby, follow you from behind; but if you catch what you hope for, turn back to me and act like a mother—kiss me and be kind.
The speaker pleads for the beloved to return and show affection.
“So will I pray that thou mayst have thy “Will,” If thou turn back, and my loud crying still.”
Thus I will pray that you may get your desire, if you turn back and quiet my loud crying.
The speaker puns on 'Will' as both a name and a wish.
