Sonnet 70

That thou art blam'd shall not be thy defect,

For slanders marke was ever yet the faire,

The ornament of beauty is suspect,

A Crow that flies in heavens sweetest ayre.

So thou be good, slander doth but approve

Thy worth the greater beeing woo'd of time,

For Canker vice the sweetest buds doth love,

And thou present'st it a pure unstayined prime.

Thou hast past by the ambush of young daies,

Either not assayld, or victor beeing charg'd,

Yet this thy praise cannot be soe thy praise,

To tye up envy, evermore inlarged.

If some suspect of ill maskt not thy show,

Then thou alone kingdomes of hearts shouldst owe.

Commentary

Address to his beloved

Changes to the original text: end of line 5, comma deleted; line 6, 'Their' changed to 'Thy', end of line 12, comma changed to full stop.

In the first quatrain, the poet remarks that it is not the fault of his beloved that he is the subject of slanders, for beauty was always the mark of evil rumours. Beauty is always suspect, like a crow that flies in heavan's air. Strange image. How does a crow come to represent beauty?

In the second quatrain, the poet affirms that the young man has an unblemished prime proved over time, that vice, which likes most young people (sweetest buds), has not stained him.

In the third quatrain, the poet observes that the beloved has passed his youth either unassailed by or victorious over vice, but he (the beloved) cannot be praised for this because such praise will simply increase the envy directed towards him.

In the final quatrain the poet observes that if there was no suspicion of ill concerning him (the beloved), he (the beloved) would own (owe) 'kingdomes of hearts'.

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