William Shakespeare’s Warning Of Sexual Praise In “Sonnet 95”

Shakespeare reveals the beauty of the young man in the first line with words “sweet” (1) and “lovely” (1), but overshadows this character with implied “shame” (1). This is not the common meaning of shame but is the sin that blossoms after premarital sexual encounters. This traditional Shakespearean (abab) rhyme scheme further implies that this becomes more than shame, but “a canker in the fragrant rose” (2). “[F]lower” (2) in this line refers to this young man’s great beauty, but “canker” (2) destroys this beauty. The meaning that Shakespeare speaks of is a worm or maggot that matriculates inside and destroys the flower. The worm kills the flower from the inside out and is not discovered until the flowe

An initial spondee begins the third quatrain of “Sonnet 95”, without great significance, but merely to stress the great amount of “vices” (9), (sexual sins), the young man has built upon him. They are so many, that Shakespeare refers to a “mansion” (9), and emphasizes the large amount of criticisms he endures, which reveals the relevance of this quatrain following the last. These next four lines reiterate the emphasis of the man’s increasing beauty due to the criticisms of the people. Lines 11 and 12 reveal this ironic power he has. The “beauty’s veil” (11) covers the “blot” (11), being the sin of sexual preying mentioned in the first quatrain, or this blot could be physical disease or syphilis, which would connect the sonnet to the finalizing couplet.

A critical analysis of the complexities of the second, (cdcd), quatrain, reveal a great irony within the sonnet. Solely looking at lines 5 and 6 invoke feelings of distaste and criticism toward the man. They imply that people notice his corruption. The “tongue” (5) is anyone who chooses to speak of this man, and “the story of thy days” (5) is the history of the young man’s life, which includes his many sexual encounters. The word “sport” (6) refers to the sexual nature of the man.

This criticism of the man, does not degrade him, but me

Some topics in this essay:
William Shakespeare, foot line, line 4, third foot, written iambic pentameter, foot line 4, fourth foot line, spondee fourth foot, “blot” 11, line 8, spondee line, written iambic, initial spondee, iambic pentameter, “edge” 14,