Sonnet 93

Commentary

Address to his beloved

Changes to the original text: line 2, dash inserted; comma deleted at end of line; line 5, 'their' changed to 'there'; end of line 6, comma changed to full stop

In the first quatrain, the poet puts forward the idea that he will live like a deceived husband, supposing his beloved to be true, though, in fact, his beloved is newly changed (alter'd new), and merely shows his pleasant face to the poet while his (the beloved's) heart is elsewhere.

In the second quatrain, the poet reaffirms that he will not be able to detect a change of heart in the beloved's looks because, unlike many people's looks (manies lookes) where infidelity is written in lines and wrinkles, his beloved's face remains always the same.

In the third quatrain, the poet repeats that heaven has so made his beloved that nothing bad can be seen in his face.

In the final couplet, the poet likens the situation to that of Eve's apple, apparently good, but with evil inside, to the situation of the beloved if his internal virtue does not match his external show.