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William Shakespeare - Sonnet #138


When my love swears that she is made of truth
I do believe her, though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutor'd youth,
Unlearned in the world's false subtleties.
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
Although she knows my days are past the best,
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue:
On both sides thus is simple truth suppress'd.
But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
And wherefore say not I that I am old?
O, love's best habit is in seeming trust,
And age in love loves not to have years told:
Therefore I lie with her and she with me
,

And in our faults by lies we flatter'd be

الشرح

When my love swears that she is made of truth
By Shakespeare

The meaning of the word:
Swear: 1) use the name of God.
2) To give an oath or promise.
Youth: young.
Tutored: to give someone a lesson.
Untutored: uneducated and having no lessons.
Subtleties: unclear, hidden, and it is not obvious.
Vainly: 1) proud to see and (adv) vanity self satisfaction.
2) Impossible.
Credit: to give one the advantage of.
Supprest: not allowing the freedom he expressed and put down.
Unjust: untruthful.
Flattered: to feel good about and happy.
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Paraphrasing:
When my love swears that she is made of truth,
I do believe her, though I know she lies,
That she might think me some untutored youth,
Unlearnèd in the world's false subtleties.
The speaker makes the odd confession that when his lady love tells him that she is truthful, he supposedly believes her, even though he knows she is lying. Of course, he means that he pretends to believe her, but in fact he knows he cannot believe her, because he knows she is lying.
But he has some lying going on as well. He wants to make her think he is unsophisticated like a young man. So he pretends to believe her lies, in order to get her to believe his pretense at being younger than he is.
Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,
Although she knows my days are past the best,
Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue:
On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed.
The speaker sums up the lying and falsifying on both parts: he knows that she knows he is not a young man in his prime, so he admits that his pretense is in vain. She does not really believe he is young, anymore than he believes she is a faithful lover. They both simply suppress the truth for the sake of their silly game.
But wherefore says she not she is unjust?
And wherefore say not I that I am old?
Oh, love's best habit is in seeming trust,
And age in love loves not to have years told.
The speaker rationalizes their deceptions and makes the ludicrous claim that “love’s best habit is in seeming trust.” The speaker knows better than this; he is a mature man who surely must realize that such “trust” is not trust at all. These lovers cannot possibly trust each other: they each know the other is lying.
Therefore I lie with her and she with me,
And in our faults by lies we flattered be.
The couplet offers little by way of assuaging the situation; it merely reveals that the relationship is based on a sexual relationship: “I lie with her and she with me.” The speaker is playing on the word “lie”; he has made it clear that both lovers “lie” to each other, so now when he says they lie “with” each other, he is referring to their sexual relationship: lying in bed together.
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The speaker:
The speaker is an old man who is having a relationship which is not perfect but he is trying to convince himself it is the best he would ever have.
Theme:
The theme is about the relationship between men and women and especially when she is younger than him. The speaker knew that his lover is lying on him in everything but he is trying to convince himself she is the most honest and faithful woman on earth