Sonnet 20

1. A Woman's face with nature's own hand painted,

2. Hast thou, the Master-Mistress of my passion,

3. A woman's gentle heart but not acquainted

4. With shifting change, as is false women's fashion,

5. An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling:

6. Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth,

7. A man in hue, all 'Hues' in his controlling,

8. Much steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth.

9. And for a woman wert thou first created,

10. Till nature, as she wrought thee fell a-doting,

11. And by addition me of thee defeated,

12. By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.

13. But since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure,

14. Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure.

For Women's Pleasure

Dedication: To Henry

Oxford discusses attributes of Henry. He then refers to the addition of himself in this saga to which he feels he has negatively impacted things. What’s more he adds that thee (Henry) was created merely for Elizabeth’s sexual pleasure. Then finishing with telling Henry that his gift is his love and still optimistically telling him that his eventual use will be England's treasure.

1st Quatrain: (1-4)

Henry is her metaphorical portrait, has Elizabeth’s face, and has Elizabeth Oxford’s Master-Mistress in lines 1 and 2. Oxford then comments that Henry has a women’s gentle heart but one not familiar with the vacillation actually associated with a woman (specifically Elizabeth) in lines 3 and 4

2nd Quatrain: (5-8)

Then reflecting on Henry and how his beauty is appreciated by either sex.

3rd Quatrain: (9-12)

Then mentioning Elizabeth as singularly created in lines 9 & 10. Line 11 reveals that it is he that defeated Henry’s recognition. Finally in line 12 using the irony of adding nothing to his purpose, he refers to Henry's creation as thus nothing really added.

couplet (13-14),

Finally telling Henry that Elizabeth created him as an unwanted by product of their passion in line 13. Telling him that his gift is his love and still optimistically telling him that his eventual use will be England's treasure in line 14.


Commentary:

This sonnet reveals a number of things, Henry as Elizabeth’s, as her metaphorical painting, and having her face. Also as the eye which was seen previously as the Sun and which is spoken of as brighter than the regular Sun. The mention of eyes “less false in rolling” likely reflects the rising and setting of the Sun which was seen an eye previously, as opposed to universal human emotions of insincerity expressed by rolling ones eyes.

Then Oxford speaks of Henry’s hues largely derived from his association with flowers likely but also perhaps a play on the homonym of ‘hew’ which is the way ‘hue’ was spelled and thus control of his path or ability to shape things as he wishes.

But the most important revelation is the phrase “since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure”, a clear allusion to accidental birth from pure sexual desire. And a reference that clearly reveals that this now adult male being referred to once was the child was the subject of poems much earlier in this sequence (the latter numbered sonnets). The phrase stems from the playing of entablature music which was said to be “pricked out” and the expression “prick song” exists to this day. But also appears in Romeo and Juliet (Act II, scene 4). Thus this is another metaphor speaking of Henry ascomposed but also serves as a double entendre, as many of mentioned the word prick also had its sexual connotation then as well. I also occurs to me that a horticultural meaning might be implied as seeds were and are also said to be priced out for germination and this would fit very well with the frequent reference of Henry to a flower.

I also should mention the long standing misunderstanding imparted by interpreting this sonnet as referring to a man with the reference to the Master-Mistress in line 2, is a misunderstanding that the subject also has the connection to the poet's mistress as was seen in the earlier sonnets. That this sonnet reflects that Henry has inherited the looks of his mother and his grandmother as will be seen in the discussion of Sonnet 3. But further that notion that all of these sonnets in this portion are written to a man is based on a simplistic and baseless model of having specific sequences addressed to specific people. And this is no doubt partly the result of not having an understanding of the larger collection forming a plot. However that there contains such a plot is belied by the notion that all three characters in these Sonnets are clearly connected and familiar with each other. And thus that there are the characters interspersed within the whole should be eminently sensible.

Vendler says, “the myth of Nature’s freedom to turn a young woman into a young man is the revelation … of the speaker’s wish for freedom to turn the young man into a young woman, so that intercourse could be accomplished and Platonic ‘love’ between men could add to itself a non-Platonic fleshy form”. She also believes that this sonnet speaks of the young man as having a “man’s” penis and a “woman’s face”.