Sonnet 154: The little Love-god lying once asleep by William Shakespeare

Full Text

The little Love-god lying once asleep
Laid by his side his heart-inflaming brand,
Whilst many nymphs that vow'd chaste life to keep
Came tripping by; but in her maiden hand
The fairest votary took up that fire
Which many legions of true hearts had warm'd;
And so the general of hot desire
Was sleeping by a virgin hand disarm'd.
This brand she quenched in a cool well by,
Which from Love's fire took heat perpetual,
Growing a bath and healthful remedy
For men diseased; but I, my mistress' thrall,
Came there for cure, and this by that I prove,
Love's fire heats water, water cools not love.

Overview

The final sonnet retells a classical myth: Cupid's torch stolen and quenched, creating a healing bath. But the speaker tried the cure and it failed—"water cools not love." The sequence ends not with resolution but ironic defeat: love remains incurable.

Line-by-Line Analysis

Lines 1-8

Cupid sleeps; a virgin nymph steals his torch and disarms the "general of hot desire."

Lines 9-12

She quenches it in a well, which becomes a healing bath for "men diseased" by love.

Lines 13-14

The speaker tried the cure. It failed. Love's fire heated the water but water couldn't cool love. No escape.

Themes

• Love incurable
• Classical myth
• Failed remedies
• Ironic conclusion

Literary Devices

Mythological Allegory

Cupid, nymphs, torch — Classical apparatus for a personal conclusion.

Epigram

Love's fire heats water, water cools not love — Witty paradox as final statement—love defeats all cures.

Historical Context

The sequence ends with classical allegory rather than personal address—a distancing gesture. The myth derives from Greek sources.