1. How sweet and lovely dost thou make the shame,
2. Which, like a canker in the fragrant Rose,
3. Doth spot the beauty of thy budding name?
4. O, in what sweets dost thou thy sins enclose!
5. That tongue that tells the story of thy days,
6. (Making lascivious comments on thy sport)
7. Cannot dispraise, but in a kind of praise,
8. Naming thy name blesses an ill report.
9. Oh, what a mansion have those vices got
10. Which for their habitation chose out thee,
11. Where beauty's veil doth cover every blot,
12. And all things turn to fair that eyes can see!
13. Take heed (dear heart) of this large privilege,
14. The hardest knife ill-used doth lose his edge.
Lovely Shame
Dedication: To Henry
Explaining to Henry that the shame surrounding his concealment is offset by his beauty. And playing on his name now of Wriothesley and it obvious association with Roses. And further explaining the disease imposed on him by cleverly comparing it to a canker on a rose. That his “sin” of existence is wrapped in metaphorically sugary things. And probably alluding to Elizabeth (that tongue) that offers his story and his procreation in a less than respectable way. Thus the need not to provide his real identity as it would reflect on the lewdness of her behavior. Alluding likely to his Tudor heritage and reflecting on what his beauty conceals. Finally a warning to Elizabeth, using a metaphor about the hardest knives. Thus abuse of Henry has the potential damage him beyond usage.
1st Quatrain: (1-4)
Explaining to Henry that he gives his secret virtue with his beauty. In line 2, the poet again refers to the canker referenced previously. Henry is the Rose by virtue both of being a Tudor and a Wriothesley (Wriothesley was likely pronounced "Rosely"). Again in line 4, speaks of how is truth is sweet though it appears to be wrapped in sin.
2nd Quatrain: (5-8)
Speaking of how Elizabeth disparages Henry’s procreation and how this is actually praise by virtue of admission of his royal blood. The parenthetical reference offering that she suggests it was merely sex she was after. Shakespeare often used sport as synonymous with lascivious and sexual entertainment as in The Comedy of Errors (IV, iv) and The Taming of the Shrew (II, i). While line 7 and 8 suggests even if an unfavorable association exists for Elizabeth it still avows Henry's rights.
3rd Quatrain: (9-12)
Suggesting the palace when talk of the 'mansion of his vices' and likely a reference to the same mansion of 146 (House of Tudor). While again referring and exclaiming to the things seen (which contrasts again with what eyes did not see in earlier sonnets like 148 and 137).
couplet (13-14),
Finally Oxford calls out a warning to Elizabeth by making the point that ill usage of Henry may have deleterious consequences. Illustrating again this change of subject by the parenthetical reference.
Commentary:
This sonnet also contains both usage of the rose as a metaphor along with again those hidden but not hidden so well that eyes can’t see. And the couplet is a clear admonition again for the dangers of misusing Henry.
Though again the tongue of line 5 is likely Elizabeth and she thus the thy making lascivious comments, by this time Oxford is also likely dealing with the scandal of abandoning his wife in 1576, because of the disputed the legitimacy of the child she had. Which seemingly resulted in his refusal to sleep with his wife, however likely a convenient way of proving his loyalty and monogamy to the Queen. Line 6 is reminiscent of the comment on his own sportive blood and the previous sonnet which discussed what was viewed as wantonness with respect to the conception of Henry.
Probably more importantly, line 6 begs the question of how anything but lasciviousness could be associated with sexual encounters outside of marriage in Elizabethan England. Though of course this has to be written to a man by this logic as well. And thus another reason no doubt that we have to have left the "Dark Lady" sonnets and entered the "Fair Youth" instances even though only 3 of the previous sonnets were in actuality addressed to Henry.
Line 12 is a warning that her secret can’t last against eyes that will eventually see. And reminiscent and continuation of the early allusions to true sight as seen in 150 and 148 as previously discussed.
The Cliff Notes commentary reflects on a “paternal attitude” in this sonnet.
Vendler mentions in her commentary on sonnet 96 that this sonnet discusses gossip of the “young man’s faults”. She also finds the structure of the poem interesting by virtue of Q2 interrupting the wonder and dismay of Q1 and Q3 with again gossip about the young man’s sport. She calls this a positioning experimentation to signal that the speaker passes from narration to analysis and was important enough to “subvert readable syntax”. I would rather offer that this poem actually is more response and rebuttal of the things that Elizabeth says about Oxford as well as things that she does along with the danger of proceeding as she does and finally a warning to her.
Note:
This is probably one of the most confusing sonnets and failure to understand the meaning of parenthetical references particularly resulted in much confusion for myself. However I would again suggest that these parentheticals also reflect importantly on the typographical and authorial accuracy of the text. And Shakespeare's inventiveness is probably a liability in many more respects in regard to our ability to understand his complete meanings.