Sonnet 138 unveils a paradox that underlines the speaker's personal struggle to come to terms with issues of deceit and trust in love. The sonnet's tone shifts from a recognition of his lover's lie about her age to developing a sense of trust in exchanging the lie. The lady is portrayed as someone insecure about her age in her attempt to defy time and win compassion of her younger lover. The element of irony in this exchange is his reference to her knowledge that his age is already beyond youth. Author of Shakespeare's Sonnets Never Before Interpreted, Gerald Massey, describes the sonnet's irony as "one of a smiling kind" (337).Massey, Gerald. Shakespeare's Sonnets Never Before Interpreted. London: Longmans, 1866. Print.
