Shakespeare Fans discussion

O, how thy worth with manners may I sing,
When thou art all the better part of me?
What can mine own praise to mine own self bring?
And what is't but mine own when I praise thee?
Even for this let us divided live,
And our dear love lose name of single one,
That by this separation I may give
That due to thee which thou deservest alone.
O absence, what a torment wouldst thou prove,
Were it not thy sour leisure gave sweet leave
To entertain the time with thoughts of love,
Which time and thoughts so sweetly doth deceive,
And that thou teachest how to make one twain,
By praising him here who doth hence remain.

The lover so identifies with the beloved that when he extols her (him?), it is as though he praises himself. What a powerful image this is of the closeness of the two parties. "The two shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24).

The sonnet begins with three questions which seem to be the speaker searching for a way to describe the beloved one without falling into the trip of self-praise.

He's asking for a way to detach himself from the beloved one so that he can continue to praise without seeming narcissistic.
It sounds like the thoughts of somebody who is addicted to the relationship. It could be a country-western song: "How Can I Get Behind Closed Doors when I"m Crazy for You."

Great thoughts here Tom and Natalie.