Sonnet 135, by NY Shakespeare Exchange

Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy Will,
And Will to boot, and Will in over-plus;
More than enough am I that vexed thee still,
To thy sweet will making addition thus.
Wilt thou, whose will is large and spacious,
Not once vouchsafe to hide my will in thine?
Shall will in others seem right gracious,
And in my will no fair acceptance shine?
The sea, all water, yet receives rain still,
And in abundance addeth to his store;
So thou, being rich in Will, add to thy Will
One will of mine, to make thy large will more.
     Let no unkind, no fair beseechers kill;
     Think all but one, and me in that one Will.

Sonnet 135,  from The Sonnet Project, by the New York Shakespeare Exchange.

This is a very curious short film, because instead of just reciting the sonnet, the two character dialogue with one another.  After I am Many does his first pass, Kalae Nouveau responds back with text that I am not familiar with and which is certainly not part of Sonnet 135.  In the credits, there is a reference to original text by Valerie Politis, so I think she wrote a playful sonnet for her film.  

In their analysis, the NY Shakespeare Exchange wrote:

This sonnet is just filthy! “Will” is a colloquial term for both the male and female genitalia, and so the poem can also be understood sexually in any number of ways. The lady is rich in Will (either sexual appetite, sexual partners, or in her own genitalia). He wants to hide his will in her will (…self explanatory). And so forth.

Shakespeare can definitely be quite the bawdy sort, and speak in the language and milieu of Falstaff & Co.  His bawdiness may be couched in ways that modern day audience may not pick up.  That said, the gentleman makes an earnest plea for her to let him join the ranks of her lovers.  Clearly her body, and her desire, are as large as the sea, so it ought not be a problem to receive him and bring him in.

That said, the second recitation of the sonnet suggests two things: (a) that he managed to persuade her, but perhaps in more friendly (i.e., platonic) manner.  The cutaways to signs that she flashes suggest they're a couple, again maybe more as friends than lovers.  He isn't quite happy, but her charm seems to win him over. (b) In this second go, I am Many speaks to us directly as the audience.  While I will definitely buy the analysis that this is a filthy-ass sonnet, the filmmaking frames it in a charming and affectionate, which very much engages us.

In both Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Nights Dream, Shakespeare makes a plea to the audience via his characters to be patient, understanding, and accepting and moreover to draw on our imagination.  Then whatever flaws or mistakes there are in the play, or its staging, are not so terrible in the least.  We are taken, affectionately so, by Shakespeare, and in so doing, Shakespeare asks us to accept him and only him.

Whew a superb superb effort on both sonnet-maker and film-maker.