Beginning of Essay
In order for a poem to be classified as a sonnet, it must meet certain structural requirements, and Sonnet 138, “When my love swears that she is made of truth,” is a perfect example. Shakespeare employs the traditional rhyme scheme of the English sonne ....

Middle of Essay
.... sonnet has a definite sense of strophic development, and the frequent ‘twists’ in the narration necessitate a close examination of this. The sonnet begins with a “When” clause, launching the reader on a sentence of indeterminate length and subsequently leaving us with expectation, in suspense, at the end of the line. The woman is emphatic: she does not merely tell the truth, she is made of truth. Both the nature of this truth, and the reason for her swearing it, are unknown to the reader. The immediate thought is that the speaker has challenged her in some way, and whether or not this is correct, it is certainly an uncon ....