"Th' expense of spirit in a waste of shame (Sonnet 129)" by William Shakespeare

[View this email on a browser]( [Forward to a friend]( [facebook-icon]( [tumblr-icon]( [twitter-icon]( June 1, 2019 [Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame (Sonnet 129)]( [William Shakespeare]( Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame Is lust in action; and, till action, lust Is perjured, murd’rous, bloody, full of blame, Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust; Enjoyed no sooner but despisèd straight; Past reason hunted, and no sooner had, Past reason hated as a swallowed bait, On purpose laid to make the taker mad. Mad in pursuit, and in possession so; Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme; A bliss in proof, and proved a very woe; Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream. All this the world well knows, yet none knows well To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell. [Like this on Facebook]( [Share via Twitter]( This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on June 1, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets. ["Th' expense of spirit in a waste of shame (Sonnet 129)" by William Shakespeare]( About This Poem “Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame (Sonnet 129)” was published in Shake-speares Sonnets (Thomas Thorpe, 1609).” [William Shakespeare]( William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-on-Avon, England. Most famed for his plays, he is the author of the poetry collections: Shake-speares Sonnets (Thomas Thorpe, 1609) and Venus and Adonis (Richard Field, 1593). He died on April 23, 1616 in Stratford. [more-at-poets]( [The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Sonnets and Poems]( Poetry by Shakespeare [The Oxford Shakespeare: The Complete Sonnets and Poems]( (Oxford University Press, 2008) "To His Mistress Going to Bed" by John Donne [read-more]( "Lines to a Nasturtium" by Anne Spencer [read-more]( "Stridulation Sonnet" by Jessica Jacobs [read-more]( June Guest Editor: Samiya Bashir Thanks to [Samiya Bashir](, author of Field Theories (Nightboat Books, 2017), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read a [Q&A with Bashir]( about her curatorial approach this month and find out more about our [guest editors for the year.]( [make a one-time donation]( [illustration]( [Small-Blue-RGB-poets.org-Logo]( Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit [Poets.org](. You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click [here](. © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038