Shakespeare Sonnet 27 Commentary-Sohil Idnani
"Weary with toil I haste me to my bed" being the first line of the poem takes the role of the title. Via this line Shakespeare portrays his weariness which causes him to rush to bed. It indicates a day of hard work and physical exertion which puts him in this position, where his body lay in need for rest, but his mind is seeking an adventure.
This poem is a "Shakespearean sonnet" which causes its structure to consist of four parts. The first Quatrain, second Quatrain, third Quatrain and a rhyming couplet to conclude the poem. This helps him depict ideas in an organized manner tackling different matter in different Quatrains linking it all together.
In the first Quatrain Shakespeare stresses on his physical exertion and how after a strenuous day of work and "travel" he longs for "repose". He introduces the "journey" in his head symbolizing that his imagination is ready to occupy him mentally, when his body is in need of rest, his mind will carry him onto another journey causing sleeplessness.
In the second quatrain Shakespeare describes his thoughts ,that dwell on something /some one who is at a distance from him, and in order to reach that person("pilgrimage to thee"),he says that his thoughts endorse an energetic "pilgrimage" in search of the sublime person, who he may attain bliss from just as a pilgrim attains bliss on his journey. The poet who is trying to sleep is unable to do so as his eyes of imagination are wide awake, depriving him of sleep. And how every time he shuts his eyes he sees that darkness which only "the blind" see, but his thoughts are in another realm altogether.
Shakespeare in a very picturesque manner presents the third quatrain,