Sonnet 28

Sonnet 28 is one of 154 sonnets written by William Shakespeare. It is part of the Fair Youth sequence, sonnets 1-126, and explores themes of absence, longing, and the speaker's reliance on the young man for solace. Specifically, Sonnet 28 details the speaker's attempt to find comfort in the day and night when separated from the fair youth, but finding neither is adequate compensation for his absence. The sonnet describes the speaker's strategy of flattering the sun and the night in an attempt to gain some relief from his unhappiness, but these efforts ultimately fail. The sun's brightness reminds him of the fair youth's own radiant beauty, and the night's darkness highlights the absence of his presence. The sonnet contributes to the overall themes of love, beauty, and the pain of separation prominent throughout the Fair Youth sequence.