The two separate sections of the sonnet cycle, the sonnets on the Young Man and the sonnets on the Dark Lady, are united in "Sonnet 144." In this poem both the Young Man and the Dark Lady are the subjects. In this way, Shakespeare brings unity to his sonnet cycle. The plot of the sonnet cycle is also developed further in this poem, for the love triangle suddenly becomes more complex. Not only does the speaker love both the Young Man and the Dark Lady, but also the speaker now suggests that the Dark Lady is also having a relationship with the Young Man.
For the structure of this poem, the poet makes use of the octet and sestet division. In the octet the speaker states the situation, but in the sestet he focuses more on his reaction to that situation. The use of contrasts also helps to lend structure to this sonnet. The following chart may be useful in discovering the poet's strategy in this regard:
Comfort (1) Despair (1)
Better Angel (3) Worser Spirit (4)
Right Fair (3) Colored Ill (4)
Saint (7) Devil (7)
Purity (8) Foul Pride (8)
The poem also unites the two sections of the sonnet cycle thematically. The speaker states at the beginning of the first quatrain that he has "two