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The Sonnets CXX - That you were once unkind befriends me now

By William Shakespeare

Topics: classic

That you were once unkind befriends me now,     And for that sorrow, which I then did feel,     Needs must I under my transgression bow,     Unless my nerves were brass or hammerd steel.     For if you were by my unkindness shaken,     As I by yours, youve passd a hell of time;     And I, a tyrant, have no leisure taken     To weigh how once I sufferd in your crime.     O! that our night of woe might have rememberd     My deepest sense, how hard true sorrow hits,     And soon to you, as you to me, then tenderd     The humble salve, which wounded bosoms fits!     But that your trespass now becomes a fee;     Mine ransoms yours, and yours must ransom me.

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"That you were once unkind befriends me now,..."

This evocative piece by William Shakespeare, titled "The Sonnets CXX - That you were once unkind befriends me now", represents a masterful exploration of classic. The lines capture a profound emotional resonance... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:William Shakespeare

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"That you were once unkind befriends me now,..." by William Shakespeare

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

William Shakespeare

About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English playwright and poet widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote 154 sonnets and narrative poems including "Venus and Adonis" and "The Rape of Lucrece," alongside 37 plays that remain central to world literature.

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