Sonnet 152

I accuse you of breaking vows, but I am guiltier—I have sworn countless oaths to false beliefs about you, making myself the ultimate perjurer.

Original

Modern

1 In loving thee thou know’st I am forsworn,

In loving thee thou know'st I am forsworn,

2 But thou art twice forsworn to me love swearing,

But thou art twice forsworn, to me faith broken,

3 In act thy bed-vow broke and new faith torn,

In act thy bed-vow broke and new faith torn,

4 In vowing new hate after new love bearing:

In both by me and by thyself forsaken.

5 But why of two oaths’ breach do I accuse thee,

But I do swear by all that I hold dear,

6 When I break twenty? I am perjured most,

Knowing thy will, I will whilst that I live:

7 For all my vows are oaths but to misuse thee:

My soul consents to thee to be thy part,

8 And all my honest faith in thee is lost.

And that myself, with thee divided, stay,

Volta The volta deepens rather than reverses: from mutual accusation (lines 1–8) to sole self-condemnation (lines 9–14). The speaker absolves her by taking all blame.

9 For I have sworn deep oaths of thy deep kindness:

Pure thou hast none, and yet thou hast them all,

10 Oaths of thy love, thy truth, thy constancy,

Stolen it from the fault of such a kind,

11 And to enlighten thee gave eyes to blindness,

As if the theft of such a kind,

12 Or made them swear against the thing they see.

Were pure in all thy want of clean attire.

13 For I have sworn thee fair: more perjured I,

final admission: 'I have sworn thee fair'

But soft! What comes of all this constancy?

14 To swear against the truth so foul a lie.

Abuse of the best for worst of all parts.

Oath-Breaking as Conscious Fraud

The speaker distinguishes between her oath-breaking (which has causes, circumstances) and his (which is deliberate self-deception). He has 'sworn deep oaths' of virtues she does not possess. This is not error but fraud. Lines 9–10 are especially damning: he swore to 'thy deep kindness,' 'thy love, thy truth, thy constancy'—all things absent. His perjury is premeditated.

Eyes Against Truth

Lines 11–12 are extraordinary: he gave his 'eyes to blindness,' made them 'swear against the thing they see.' His eyes witnessed her corruption but he commanded them to lie. This final inversion—eyes as instruments of falsehood rather than truth—summarizes the sequence's epistemological collapse. Perception is weaponized against reality.

If this happened today

Like someone who, confronted with evidence of their partner's unfaithfulness, turns to themselves and says, 'But I swore you were faithful. I made myself believe you were true. My lies are worse than your actual betrayal.'

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