Explore how Shakespeare highlights the complexities of love in 'Sonnet 145'.

In 'Sonnet 145', Shakespeare illuminates the desperation and momentary despair of a man in love. While one may expect the subject of a romantic sonnet to profess confirmation of their love or adoration in verse, Shakespeare highlights the terrifying nature of giving one's heart to another. This degree of fear and desperation may be expected for cases of unrequited love, however, in 'Sonnet 145' Shakespeare illustrates the instability and rich emotion of a current and ongoing relationship.
In the sonnet, Shakespeare's subject is so in need of his loved one's affection that the thought of her 'hating' anything about him sends him into a frenzy. Shakespeare writes, 'To me that languished for her sake...she saw my woeful state', here a reader can visualise a man so sensitive to the favour of his partner that he considers it a 'mercy' to complete her sentence and utter, 'I hate...not you'. The pained lover is so relieved he considers her to have 'saved his life'. The frightened language highlights the complexities of love by shunning typical romantic and confirmed acclamations and instead revealing the vulnerability of a lover. By utilising a sonnet form, Shakespeare better illustrates the intensity of a fleeting moment of despair, a short and dramatic moment of terror, relaxing into satisfied relief - like that of the lover's thoughts.