Poetry · Chapter
CXXVIII explained
The poet envies the jacks of a musical instrument that are touched by the beloved's fingers, wishing that his own lips could receive such intimate contact instead.
What happens
The poet envies the jacks of a musical instrument that are touched by the beloved's fingers, wishing that his own lips could receive such intimate contact instead.
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 poet's intense longing for physical intimacy with the beloved, expressed through envy of the instrument's jacks.
- Art and Immortality
The interplay of music and poetry as a medium for expressing and immortalizing desire.
Characters to notice
- William Shakespeare
The speaker who envies the jacks and longs for the beloved's kiss.
Key passages
“Do I envy those jacks that nimble leap To kiss the tender inward of thy hand”
I envy those wooden jacks that quickly jump to touch the soft inside of your hand.
The poet's jealousy of the instrument's contact with the beloved.
“Since saucy jacks so happy are in this, Give them thy fingers, me thy lips to kiss.”
Since those impertinent jacks are so fortunate in this, let them have your fingers, and give me your lips to kiss.
A direct plea for the beloved's kiss, contrasting the jacks' privilege with the poet's deprivation.
