Sonnet 153 by Shakespeare

Sonnet 153 is a sonnet by William Shakespeare.

Synopsis
Sonnets 153 and 154 are filled with rather bawdy double entendres of sex followed by contraction of a venereal disease. The sonnet is a story of Cupid, who lays down his torch and falls asleep, only to have it stolen by Diana, who extinguishes it in a "cold valley-fountain". The fountain then acquires an eternal heat as a result, and becomes a hot spring where men still come to be cured of diseases. The speaker then states that as his mistress looks at him, Cupid's torch is ignited again, and Cupid tests the torch by trying it on the speaker's heart. The speaker becomes sick with love and wants to bathe in the hot spring to cure himself, but he cannot. The speaker discovers the only thing that can cure his discomfort is a glance from his mistress.

See also: Shakespeare's sonnets