Sonnet 148

The Dark Lady: Reckoning

Notes

TLN 2061archaic vocab
“censures falsely what they see aright”
'Censures' means judges or evaluates critically — not merely reproaches but renders a formal verdict. The poet cannot decide whether his eyes see the Dark Lady falsely, or whether they see her correctly and his judgment then mis-reads the evidence they supply.
TLN 2062archaic vocab
“whereon my false eyes dote”
'Dote' means to be excessively and foolishly fond, to love without the use of reason. It implies an attachment that has bypassed rational judgment entirely — the kind of infatuation likened in later usage to the dotage of old age. The speaker is not merely in love; he is in the grip of a desire that has disabled his faculties.
TLN 2067archaic vocab
“vexed with watching and with tears”
'Watching' here means staying awake, keeping a sleepless vigil — not observing in the modern sense. The lover who cannot sleep stares through the night and weeps, so his eyes are literally reddened and blurred, physically unfit for accurate sight. This is the sonnet's turn: love does not corrupt perception mystically but by wrecking the body.