The hours I’ve spent with you, dear heart,
Are as a string of pearls to me;
I count them over, every one apart,
My rosary.
For some reason, all of Shakespeare’s references to the pearl are linked with sadness. The song in The Tempest tells:
Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes ...
And it is after Othello has killed his faithful wife Desdemona and has discovered that his clouding suspicions were untrue, that he calls himself: