Love in Shakespeare's Sonnet 128 and Gibran's The Prophet William Shakespeare's “Sonnet 128” suggests a rather playful and sensual approach to love, while an excerpt on love and marriage from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran has a didactic and intellectual tone. Shakespeare delights in his lover's lustful possession, but Gibran advises allowing space between partners in their relationship. Well endowed with imagery, Shakespeare's sonnet conjures up a vision of a woman rocking back and forth playing the spinet, and the poet sitting smiling and enjoying her movements, sparked by her music and charm. A master of double meaning, Shakespeare wrote “Sonnet 128” as a sexual conceit. He compares her playing beautiful music on a “blessed” wooden instrument to her playing her blessed wooden instrument (phallic symbol). In fact, he views the woman as his toy and object of possession that he can exploit for his own sexual pleasure, misinterpreting his selfish desire as love. The poem gives off an atmosphere of libertinism and Shakespeare employs many sexual puns and innuendos to get his way. this tone. His diction presents an earthy element: "playing music on blessed wood", "gentle fingers swing gently", "nervous concord", "jacks leaping with agility", "reaping a harvest", "the audacity of wood”, “change state when tickled”. ", "dancing chips" and "fingers walking with a smooth gait". One interpretation of any of these preceding phrases could describe either one's lover playing the spinet or performing a sexual act with consequent gratification. "Change d 'state when tickled' indicates obtaining an erection. 'Harvesting a crop' represents one's sexual climax and ejaculation. 'Wiry concord' refers to another poem in ...... middle of the 'article ...... right: Gale Research, Inc., 1994. 25:305-318. Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Zóla essential reference to his plays, his life and times, and more New York. : Round table Press, 1990. pp. 607-610. Colum, Padraic. "Common Places of Arabic." interpretation of his writings and art. Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1963. Pequigney, Joseph. A study of Shakespeare's sonnets. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985. Sherfan, Andrew Dib. Kahlil Gibran: The nature of love. Secaucus, New Jersey: Citadel Press, 1973. Williamson, Sandra L. and James E. Person, Jr., eds. Shakespearean criticism. 31 vol. Detroit: GaleResearch, Inc., 1990. 10: p. 177.