MAY 2003 PSALMS AND SONNETS : 146 and 147 by Fred Blick I Introduction A detailed analysis of Shakespeare's sonnets numbered 146 and 147, comparing them with elements of the correspondingly numbered Psalms of The Book of Common Prayer of 1559, has not previously been undertaken, as far as this writer is aware. The object of such an examination here is to ascertain whether Shakespeare was influenced, and if so, to what extent, by the wording of these Psalms. The consequences of such an influence, if established, would have an important bearing on the interpretation of these sonnets and on the question of whether they, and other sonnets, were deliberately written or placed under their numbers. For the convenience of the reader, the Quarto texts of the two sonnets are set out, with the correspondingly numbered Psalm, or parts thereof, in Appendices A and B of this essay. Soul, Mind and Body At first hearing, the two sonnets seem quite different. The reason is that sonnet 146 is a troubled, vocative address by the poet to his own Soul, which rises to a crescendo in the closing couplet. It is a soliloquy and, as such, is witnessed only by the reader. It describes a crisis of the Soul. Sonnet 147 is, in contrast, a tormented outcry, which again rises to a crescendo in the closing couplet, but this time with shocking insults addressed to the Dark Lady, again witnessed by the reader. It describes the crisis of a disturbed Mind. Despite differences, a close examination reveals very definite and important similarities between these sonnets. Taking the two sonnets together, there is a verbal distinction between Soul, Mind and Body as elements which constitute the speaking poet. Shakespeare does not mention the spirit here, as he does in other sonnets and in the plays. However, he does mention “rebbell powres”, “love” and “Desire” which affect the Soul and Mind. Without going into deeper philosophical distinctions (although a study of Plotinus is helpful here, see below), it is reasonable to assume, in the context of the whole sequence of the Dark Lady sonnets 127-154, that the “rebbell powres” which afflict the Soul of the poet and his “sinfull earth” in 146 are on one side of a metaphorical equation. On the other side are “love” and “Desire” which afflict the “thoughts” or Mind of the same poet in 147. In both sonnets the speaking poet retains a precise understanding of his struggle and predicament. A major point of interest in sonnet 146 is Shakespeare's detailed vision of the “soule” of the speaker. This “soule” has a “center” “within”, as well as having 1