You touch on a really interesting point, Susan. Davey and I have been talking about it lately - about biographical readings, how knowing the life a poet influences one's interpretation of the poem. Can we separate these ways of knowing? I still really admire A.S. Byatt's Possession for how it complicates biographical assumptions.
In this sonnet, the "you" could be me for the reasons you give, or the poet addressing himself - giving himself a good talking to.
It's so much fun, living with a great poet, because you get to see up-close where it all comes from, and how it gets worked and changed and shaped and made in the alembic of imagination.
So glad you enjoyed the sonnet, Susan. I was astonished when I first read it!
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