Shakespeare Sonnet 95

“How sweet and lovely dost thou make the shame”

Dec 9, 2008 Linda Sue Grimes

The speaker in sonnet 95 dramatizes the Muse's power to appoint beauty despite decay as he again celebrates his own innate talent to remain focused on his creativity.

First Quatrain: “How sweet and lovely dost thou make the shame”

In the first quatrain of sonnet 95, the speaker addresses his Muse, capturing her trait of ferreting out the “lovely” from the cankerous “sins.” The speaker asserts that beauty spouts from the fountain of the Muses lush abilities.

Despite the fact that vile worms abide ready to attach all that is beautiful and decorous, the Muse’s talent keeps them at bay, and her power allows artists who woo her to forgo the “sins” that would “enclose” those who are less attentive.

Second Quatrain: “That tongue that tells the story of thy days”

The speaker then dramatizes the activities of the valiant artist who “tells the story of thy days.” Despite nature’s ways of degrading all that is heavenly and praiseworthy, the many blessings that are inherent in the Divine Muse erase the ill effects that would despoil all beauty and heartfelt emotion, coupled with courage.

The Muse’s very “name blesses” all that might consort with the dark underbelly of the world. The dark spirits cannot stand because light is a purifier, and the Muse is full of light—not the natural sunlight only, but the light of the soul.

Third Quatrain: “O! what a mansion have those vices got”

Vice cannot successfully compete with virtue; therefore, “vices” have no home, where the soulful Muse is enthroned. The heart of the true artist yields itself up as the “habitation” from which the spark of the Muse Divine can reign, and “where beauty’s veil doth cover every blot.”

The speaker encapsulates the Muse’s influence, while dramatizing the baser aspects of earth. In so doing, he partakes of “all things” that “turn to fair” where all “eyes can see.” The speaker, who knows himself as a skillful artist, serves as a whisperer for the activity that prevails in the “mansion” of the heavenly Muse.

The Couplet: “Take heed, dear heart, of this large privilege”

In the couplet, the speaker shifts from the Muse to address his own heart, that is, his own conscience, reminding it and his own talent that he enjoys the divine “privilege” of comprehending such mystical and esoteric knowledge. His boast may yet lead him astray, but until he loses his sharpness, he will remain well focused on his assigned task.

He compares such fine-tuned power to the edge of a knife that when “ill-used” becomes dull. The speaker implies that his unique grasp of nature and heaven will protect him from foolishly squandering his talent.

Other Shakespeare articles: Who is Shakespeare?

Sonnet Commentaries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 116, 126, 130, 138, 146

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