Sonnet 87 is the first sonnet after the rival poet sequence (sonnets 79-86).

It begins a new
sequence of sonnets dealing with the narrator's "breakup" with the fair lord. The first word
captures the essence of the sonnet precisely: "Farewell!" Immediately we are reintroduced
to the theme of self-deprecation and inadequacy that was especially predominant in the
preceding rival poet sequence: "thou art too dear for my possessing." This sentiment is
repeated again and again throughout the sonnet, e.g. in line 6: "And for that riches where is
my deserving?" The narrator thereby acknowledges his unworthiness and presents that as
justification for the fair lord's rejection.
The narrator sees two possible explanations for how he ever managed to obtain the fair
lord's attention in the first place: either the fair lord was not then aware that he was too
good for the narrator, or he had not yet realized that the narrator was not good enough for
him. In any case, the narrator's love for the fair lord was not realistic, for it took on the
character of a dream. Note the abundance of feminine rhyme (end rhymes of at least two
syllables with the final syllable unstressed), the repetition of the -ing suffix resulting in
uncharacteristic monotony, and the fact that almost all of the lines in the sonnet have 11
syllables; perhaps the poet's farewell to the fair lord is hereby symbolized in his
abandonment of the poetic conventions he once relied on for sonnets of praise.
Beyond the theme of self-deprecation and inadequacy, sonnet 87 also contains some
excellent examples of Shakespeare's frequent use of the imagery of financial bondage. As
with the court imagery found in sonnet 30, this theme often takes on the form of legal
metaphors, here seen in the words "charter," "patent," and "misprision." Meanwhile from
the language of finance are the words "estimate," "worth," "bonds," and "riches."
Lines 3-4, for example, offer some good discussion of the theme of financial bondage.
Following the poet's characterization of the fair lord as "too dear for my possessing," he
describes the fair lord's preciousness as such that it grants him certain privileges, as a
charter would a corporation, including the privilege to declare himself free of all obligations.
The narrator's bonds, or financial obligations, with the fair lord are thereby becoming null
and void; the fair lord is free of commitment by mere virtue of his dearness, being more
worthy than the narrator. Shakespeare may have chosen this imagery simply for the sake of
metaphor, or perhaps there is in fact some deeper meaning to it: perhaps the fair lord was
indeed the poet's financial benefactor, but is now freed from that obligation having chosen
to take his business elsewhere.