The Place 2 Be: Shakespeare's Sonnets

Critique of Sonnet 70

SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS

Theme: Slander
Content: The reversal of sin into a virtue, augmented by turning others' slander into something for the subject to be proud of.

That thou are blamed shall not be thy defect,
For slander's mark was ever yet the fair.
The ornament of beauty is suspect,
A crow that flies in heaven's sweetest air.

The subject is being blamed by others for his behaviour but the author comes to his defence stating that he is ameliorated by the slander of others. In fact, the slanderers are virtually made out to be the bad guys.

The consistent defence of the subject is represented by the author's consistent use of the word not.

Beauty is hidden within be thy.

The blame of others is countered as not being a defect of the subject.

Slander's mark is countered as being fair.

A crow that flies is countered as doing so in heaven's sweetest air.

So thou be good, slander doth but approve
Thy worth the greater, being wooed of time;
For canker vice the sweetest buds doth love,
And thou present'st a pure unstained prime.

slander is countered as being something that approves.

canker is countered as something that sweetest buds doth love.

Thou hast passed by the ambush of young days
Either not assailed, or victor being charged;
Yet this thy praise cannot be so thy praise
To tie up envy, evermore enlarged.

After the excuses for the sins committed, the author now praises the subject for having got through his youth by either not being caught committing vice or still being the victor on having been caught - the subject can literally have it bothh ways.

"King of vice" may be implied by use of the word victor.

envy, evermore enlarged is attempted to be tied up in an almost tongue-tying breakout of alliteration.

If some suspect of ill masked not thy show,
Then thou alone kingdoms of hearts shouldst owe.

The author now encourages the subject to face up to the slander.