False-speaking tongue (Symbol)
The lover lies both about her fidelity and about believing the speaker about his age. A “false-speaking tongue” is a symbol of the dark side of this kind of dishonesty. It also encompasses an allusion to the Garden of Eden, in which Satan (disguised as a serpent) spoke falsehoods to Eve to trick her into eating from the Tree of Knowledge.
Lying (Motif)
The sonnet repeatedly plays with the double meaning of “lie”—to be dishonest, and to lie down (with another person). Throughout the poem, the speaker and his lover lie to each other. By the final line, “I lie with her and she with me,” the reader understands that this motif works to show the relationship between dishonesty and sex. For the speaker of this sonnet, lies can make for the best kind of relationship.
