 "The difference between Shakespeare's and other great Elizabethan sonnet sequences lies in the degree and complexity of his main character's ambiguity, as well as in the skill with which this complexity is managed.Shakespeare's contradictory speaker stands as one of the most important elements of the artistic impact and lasting vitality of the sequence".In this particular sonnet, the couplet acts as a summary of the basic sentiment of silent and stifled desire that fill the lines of the poem.