Shakespeare's Sonnet 105

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 105
Kaley Shoaf

Let not my love be called idolatry,
Nor my beloved as an idol show,
Since all alike my songs and praises be
To one, of one, still such, and ever so.
Kind is my love to-day, to-morrow kind,
Still constant in a wondrous excellence;
Therefore my verse to constancy confined,
One thing expressing, leaves out difference.
Fair, kind, and true, is all my argument,
Fair, kind, and true, varying to other words;
And in this change is my invention spent,
Three themes in one, which wondrous scope affords.
Fair, kind, and true, have often lived alone,
Which three till now, never kept seat in one.

No dejas que mi amor se llame idolatría,
Ni tampoco muestras mi amado como ídolo,
Como todos mis canciones y alabanzas sean
A uno, de uno, todavía así y siempre así.
Bondadoso es mi amor hoy, mañana bondadoso,
Constante en una excelencia asombrosa.
Entonces mi versa a la constancia confinada,
Una cosa expresando, deja al lado la diferencia,
Justo, bondadoso, y verídico es todo mi argumento,
Justo, bondadoso, y verídico cambiando a otras palabras;
Y en este cambio es mi invención gastada,
Tres temas en uno, cual proporciona la extensión asombrosa.
Justo, bondadoso, y verídico han a menudo vividos solos,
Que tres hasta ahora, nunca han mantenido lugar en uno.

Don’t let my love be called idolatry,
Nor show my beloved as an idol,
As all my songs and praises are to one,
By one, still that way and always that way.
Kind is my love today, tomorrow kind,
Constant in an amazing excellence.
Then my verse is confined to constancy,
One thing expressing, leaves difference aside,
Just, kind, and true is all my argument,
Just, kind, and true, changing to other words;
And in this change is my invention spent,
Three themes in one, which wondrous scope allows.
Just, kind, and true have often lived alone,
Which three, till now, have never been in one.

Some of the language forms found in the sonnet were alliteration and full rime. Shakespeare had, for instance, Kind and Constant at the beginning of two lines—forming a similar sound. Likewise, the sonnet follows a form where every other line rhymes and then the final couplet rhymes. More obvious and effective, however, was the word repetition. The repeating (anaphora) of fair, kind, and true, was effective in driving home the most important part of the sonnet. Idol and Constant were also presented in different forms to create a fluid feeling. Also, starting a line with kind and ending it with kind (epanadiplosis) gave strength to the feeling. I would say it was written in a mostly ciceronian syle.
I chose to translate to Spanish because I speak Spanish. It was difficult to translate the literary figures into Spanish because Spanish is an inflected language and English isn’t but the general ideas do translate well.