Sonnet 70
1. That thou art blamed shall not be thy defect,
2. For slander's mark was ever yet the fair,
3. The ornament of beauty is suspect,
4. A Crow that flies in heaven's sweetest air.
5. So thou be good, slander doth but approve,
6. Their worth the greater being woo'd of time,
7. For Canker vice the sweetest buds doth love,
8. And thou present'st a pure unstained prime.
9. Thou hast pass'd by the ambush of young days,
10. Either not assail'd or victor being charged,
11. Yet this thy praise cannot be so thy praise,
12. To tie up envy evermore enlarged,
13. If some suspect of ill mask'd not thy show,
14. Then thou alone kingdoms of hearts shouldst owe.
Woo'd of Time
Dedication: To Henry
In a comforting poem to Henry who now seems to be of age, Oxford explains to him that though he is blamed for the problems he has caused this is not a reflection on him. Explaining that the slander of him is a sign of his worth and that worth is to come by virtue of it becoming more precious as time goes on. Alluding to his owning the hearts of England one day as their King.
1st Quatrain: (1-4)
Telling Henry that even though he is blamed for the problem that he creates for Elizabeth and the Privy Counsel, he should not let this be thought of as an impairment. Elaborating further that this slander is misguided and the suspicion of his "beauty" is unfair.
2nd Quatrain: (5-8)
Telling him to pay little heed to the questioning of his worth as it will only grow greater as the time of need approaches. Making analogy to the flower he represents and telling him that disease is attracted to the sweetest buds. That he presents a new beginning.
3rd Quatrain: (9-12)
That he has made it through the most dangerous time already, alluding to a theory that if anything bad was to happen it would have happened already. Commenting that neither the bad that could have happened nor the victory to remain has happened. That this negotiation of this predicament however is not to be his praise. That there is great and growing envy of him.
couplet (13-14),
Explaining to him that if there is even suspicion of his true nature than he will have won the hearts to rule.
Commentary:
A rare and revealing fatherly discussion with Henry on his perceived defect and his need to transcend it and remain patient along with the thought that having made it through his young years with no harm he is being kept for a purpose to which he told us already in sonnet 126. Line 9 is an important element is demonstrating Henry’s maturity, being passed the “ambush of young days”. He also discusses in the sonnet his concealment with the thought that were it not for the ill that masked his real identity or “his show” he would be the love of his nation in the couplet.
The poet has shifted to speak to the person considered to be the defect alluded to earlier in the sonnets (at least by this sequencing). The most revealing line that “Thy worth greater, being woo’d of Time”, is a clear indication that the subject is in a state of waiting and the result of that wait will be somehow translated into being of greater worth. This of course makes complete sense for the situation that Henry is in, waiting on his mother to recognize him as her heir. This in turn explains the last lines that if “unmasked” kingdoms will be affected.
The key to this sonnet is the reference of the subject’s future tied to a future time when circumstances will change. This is I believe generally over looked by orthodoxy but it should be clearly understood as intimately part of the meaning of this sonnet. In fact this them continues with the notion that inevitably Henry must be called to his real and rightful function as we will see.
Line 6 contains one of the instances where “their” frequently appears as “thy” in editorial corrections. One of the many authorial corrections that gets made to these sonnets which this version corrects.
Vendler comments that the poet uses a “succession of sophistries” addressed to the young man: The fair like you are always blamed; slander, seen to be false will improve your reputation; Even if ambushed by vice, you have emerged victorious”, etc.