domingo, 30 de diciembre de 2012
Sonnet LXX by Shakespeare
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE´S SONNETS
SONNET LXX
For ſlanders marke was euer yet the faire,
The ornament of beauty is ſuſpect,
A Crow that flies in heauens ſweeteſt ayre.
So thou be good,ſlander doth but approue,
Their worth the greater being woo'd of time,
For Canker vice the ſweeteſt buds doth loue,
And thou preſent'ſt a pure vnſtayined prime.
Thou haſt paſt by the ambuſh of young daies,
Either not aſſayld,or victor beeing charg'd,
Yet this thy praiſe cannot be ſoe thy praiſe,
To tye vp enuy,euermore inlarged,
If ſome ſuſpect of ill maskt not thy ſhow,
Then thou alone kingdomes of hearts ſhouldſt owe.
Analysis
shall not be thy defect = shall not be counted as a defect, or as a blot on your character.
was ever yet = always was, and still is.
the fair = those who are beautiful.
Light thickens, and the crow
Makes wing for the rooky wood;
Good things of day begin to droop and drowse,
Whiles night's black agents to their preys do rouse. Mac.III.2.50-3.
approve = prove, confirm.
being wooed of time = time also is in love with you. The phrase does not seem entirely apposite here, in that it does not follow on from the rest of the sentence. Commentators have struggled to find its meaning. The phrase may mean nothing more than 'you are beautiful, in that time has bestowed gifts on you'. JK suggests that the corruptions of the age set out to seduce the youth (he is wooed by time), but when they do not succeed, since he remains good, the envious tongues of slander merely prove that he is even more worthy. The allurements of time are fickle (126) and it is not to be trusted. The line has the additional difficulty of the their/thy misprint.
a pure unstained prime = a springtime of youth which is chaste and unsullied. unstainéd - the 'ed' is pronounced.
victor being charged = victorious when charged in battle. The metaphors are military, but there may be a suggestion of a legal attack, with slanderous tongues drawing up a charge sheet.
cannot be so thy praise = cannot forever be so powerful as praise (that it succeeds in tying up envy).
evermore enlarged = perpetually at liberty. Envy is personified as a wild and raging beast which cannot be confined.
To enlarge = to set free.
Enlarge the man committed yesterday
That railed against our person. H5.II.2.41
ill = evil, sin, bad character.
masked not thy show = did not cover your appearance, as with a mask.
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