Sonnet 146, which William Shakespeare addresses to his soul, his "sinful earth", is a pleading appeal to himself to value inner qualities and satisfaction rather than outward appearance. Synopsis The speaker addresses his soul, which he pictures as a poor or empty interior, as opposed to his body, a gaudy exterior. He questions the soul's "large cost" lavished on a body which will shortly die. Continuing his financial metaphor, he urges the soul to turn the body's inevitable loss into the soul's gain. Thus as death feeds on men, the soul can feed on death, rendering the soul immortal. Structure Sonnet 146 is an English or Shakespearean sonnet. The English sonnet has three quatrains, followed by a final rhyming couplet. It follows the typical rhyme scheme of the form ABAB CDCD EFEF GG and is composed in iambic pentameter, a type of poetic metre based on five pairs of metrically weak/strong syllabic positions. The 14th line exemplifies a regular iambic pentameter: × / × / × / × /× / And Death once dead, there's no more dying then. (146.14) / = ictus, a metrically strong syllabic position. × = nonictus. The 4th line begins with a common metrical variant, the initial reversal: / × × / × / × / × / Painting thy outward walls so costly gay? (146.4) An initial reversal also occurs in line 3, and potentially in lines 6, 8, 9, and 13. A mid-line reversal occurs in line 5. The metrical interpretations of the beginnings of lines 5 and 9 are especially dependent upon the rhetorical emphasis chosen. In line 5, any of the first three syllables could potentially take the first ictus. In line 9 any of four readings is rhetorically possible: / × × / [initial reversal] × / / × [2nd position reversal; rare] / × / × [double reversal; generally considered unmetrical] × / × / × / × / × / [regular] Then, soul, live thou upon thy servant's loss, (146.) The relative frequency of initial reversals and regular lines, and a characteristically Shakespearean use of metrical expectations to emphasize pronouns, suggest that readings with only an initial reversal or a regular meter may be the most appropriate. Analysis and Criticism The sonnet is notable for its uncharacteristically religious tone and call for moral richness, whereas most sonnets treasure earthly qualities of beauty and love. In its vocabulary and