C.R.B. Combellack openly challenges Ousby's interpretation of the Informer's identity. He feels that since, "Shakespeare's objections to false accusations against him are the very subject matter of the poem, an Informer who lays information against another is particularly apropos in the poem". Combellack subscribes to the idea that there are four characters represented in Sonnet 125: the Speaker, the Friend, the Informer, and the Suborner. He believes that the actions of the first quatrain were accusations leveled against Shakespeare as the Speaker. For Combellack, Shakespeare becomes the canopy-bearer as a means of advancement toward fame and fortune. In the second quatrain, Shakespeare shows how those who participate in these grand gestures often pay too much and lose a great deal only to have their gestures be seen as empty. Combellack sees the third quatrain as the offer of genuine love to the Friend, "uncomplicated by any secondary thought of self-interest, in return for love". The couplet then changes tone once more as Combellack views it. He sees it as Shakespeare defending himself against gossip by pointing out how "outrageously untrue gossip" could not possibly be believed by his Friend. There is more hope in Combellack's interpretation of Sonnet 125, because he sees the altruism of the love offered by Shakespeare and how vehemently he denies the rumors against him.