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The Sonnets XLVIII - How careful was I when I took my way

By William Shakespeare

Topics: classic

How careful was I when I took my way,     Each trifle under truest bars to thrust,     That to my use it might unused stay     From hands of falsehood, in sure wards of trust!     But thou, to whom my jewels trifles are,     Most worthy comfort, now my greatest grief,     Thou best of dearest, and mine only care,     Art left the prey of every vulgar thief.     Thee have I not lockd up in any chest,     Save where thou art not, though I feel thou art,     Within the gentle closure of my breast,     From whence at pleasure thou mayst come and part;     And even thence thou wilt be stoln I fear,     For truth proves thievish for a prize so dear.

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"How careful was I when I took my way,..."

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Author:William Shakespeare

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"How careful was I when I took my way,..." 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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