They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow:
They rightly do inherit heaven’s graces
And husband nature’s riches from expense;
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others but stewards of their excellence.
The summer’s flower is to the summer sweet
Though to itself it only live and die,
But if that flower with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
This is often thought to be the most enigmatic of the Sonnets. In the past it was presented as the type and model of a detached observation on human nature, but nowadays greater emphasis is placed on setting it in the context of the surrounding sonnets, 87-96, in which the youth is portrayed as potentially fickle and ready to abandon the pledges he has made, a beauteous flower, but corrupted at the core. The sonnet is cast as a series of meditative essays on a certain type of personality, and no reference is made to the speaker or the person addressed, as if the use of ‘I’ and ‘you’ and personal pronouns were being studiously avoided. It may be that it was written in response to a development of the situation outlined in 90-93, where the youth seems to be ready to abandon the poet, to forget promise past, and to cast him aside. All those foregoing sonnets were written with suggestions of uncertainty, as if the poet were unable to know if the youth had abandoned him or not. Now it is possible that some act or failure to act, or some statement, made in the charmed circle of the youth’s admirers, has convinced the poet that his beloved is one of those fortunate few who moves others but is himself ‘as stone’, and that all along he has given a false impression of what he intends to do. Therefore there are grounds for cautious optimism, or so the poet thinks, for the youth perhaps will remain faithful after all, despite his previous behaviour. And there is hope that all will now be well, after the ravages of suspicion which have so much damaged the former trust. But alas there is a threat that some festering evil will shortly destroy the poet’s hopes. For sweetest things often turn sour, and his optimism may well prove to be unfounded.
Sonnet XCIV
Did you enjoy the the artible “Sonnet XCIV” from William Shakespeare on OZOFE.COM? Do you know anyone who could enjoy it as much as you do? If so, don't hesitate to share this post to them and your other beloved ones.
Leave a Reply