Original artwork, not a still
I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright, Who art as black as hell, as dark as night.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The speaker sets earlier praise against a fiercely opposed present judgment. “Fair” and “bright” give way to hell and night, making disillusionment visible through a reversal of light and dark. The bitterness is intensified by admitting that the former admiration was the speaker’s own.
Context reviewed
