Toward the end of the sonnet sequence on the Dark Lady, the poet focuses more on the idea of regret. This is very much like the sonnet cycle written by Francis Petrarch. The speaker regrets the waste of spirit spent in pursuit of his earthly desire. However, unlike the cycle by Petrarch, Shakespeare's sonnets do not deal with unrequited love. Rather, the speaker has been with the Dark Lady; the speaker has acted on his lust. However, such actions have harmed him more than made him feel good. And, so, he regrets ever having been with the Dark Lady at all.
In "Sonnet 146" the poet examines the two parts that make up (according to Christians) all human beings: the body and the soul. Structurally, the poem can be divided between the octet and the sestet. In the octet the speaker examines the value of the body, but in the sestet he recognizes the worth of the soul. This sonnet, then, does not deal with the Dark Lady directly. But since we know that the speaker has given his body to the Dark Lady, that he has used his body to satisfy his lust for this woman, his comments about the body then are a direct result or consequence of his relationship with her.
In the very first line of the poem (in the first quatrain) the poet describes his body as earth. This metaphor suggests the low value that the body has. It is as common as dirt. Of course, the body is also "sinful." As we know, the speaker has given in to the temptation of lust. However, at the center of the