By William Shakespeare

Those lips that Love’s own hand did make
Breathed forth the sound that said “I hate”
To me that languished for her sake;
But when she saw my woeful state,
Straight in her heart did mercy come,
Chiding that tongue that ever sweet
Was used in giving gentle doom,
And taught it thus anew to greet:
“I hate” she altered with an end
That followed it as gentle day
Doth follow night, who, like a fiend,
From heaven to hell is flown away.
   “I hate” from hate away she threw,
   And saved my life, saying “not you.”

Poet Bio

Actor, dramatist, and poet, William Shakespeare is the most highly regarded writer in the English language. Born in Stratford-Upon-Avon in England, Shakespeare wrote 38 plays, including Othello, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet. His epic narrative poems and 154 sonnets include some of the world’s most quoted lines. See More By This Poet

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