Sonnet 43

Some meanings of the word shadow include the darkness something casts when exposed by light; areas of dark; a sense of gloom; or an inseparable companion. The word shade, by contrast, indicates a color (especially how it relates to light); an area of coolness relative to sunlight; or is another word for ghost. The speaker describes The Fair Youth as both a “shadow” (Lines 5, 6) and a “shade” (Lines 8, 11). At first, the beloved illuminates “shadows” (Line 5) of darkness for the speaker due to the beloved’s brightness. His “shadow’s form” (Line 6) creates a “happy show” (Line 6). However, the use of “shadow’s form” (Line 6) suggests that the beloved is illusory, a figure from the speaker’s dream that comes and goes at will. Although at first this “shade shines” (Line 11), it is later described as a “fair imperfect shade” (Line 11), suggesting that the beloved is both beautiful and flawed. This shows that the speaker views him as an entity that functions both as a beam of light who brightens his days and an oppressive ghost who haunts the speaker. This heightens the tension in the poem itself.