William Shakespeare (1564-1616). Sonnet: 'Tir'd with all these, for restful death I cry'. Andrew Macphail, comp. 1916. The Book of Sorrow

Andrew Macphail, comp. The Book of Sorrow. 1916.

XII. Love and Death
Sonnet: ‘Tir’d with all these, for restful death I cry’

By William Shakespeare (1564–1616)


TIR’D with all these, for restful death I cry,—
As to behold desert a beggar born,
And needy nothing trimm’d in jollity,
And purest faith unhappily forsworn,
And gilded honour shamefully misplac’d,	5
And maiden virtue rudely strumpeted,
And right perfection wrongfully disgrac’d,
And strength by limping sway disabled,
And art made tongue-tied by authority,
And folly—doctor-like—controlling skill,	10
And simple truth miscall’d simplicity,
And captive good attending captain ill:
Tir’d with all these, from these would I be gone,
Save that, to die, I leave my love alone.