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Sonnet 20 is one of 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare. It's a member of the Fair Youth sequence, in which the poet expresses his love towards a young man.
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Sonnet 20 |
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A woman's face with nature's own hand painted,
Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion;
A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women's fashion:
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hue all hues in his controlling,
Which steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created;
Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure,
Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure.
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| –William Shakespeare |
[edit] Analysis
This poem is written about the fair young man. The poet says that he possesses all of woman's good qualities, but none of the bad ones - he isn't fickle, etc. He is so great that when he looks at someone they "turn to gold" (they feel special). The fair young man was originally created as a woman - this explains why both men and women are drawn to him. However, Nature fell in love with her own creation. She added a penis ("pricked") so the she (Nature) could be in love with him. This act defeated the poet as he can no longer have the fair young man. The poet concludes by saying he will love the fair young man, but women get to enjoy him (sexually).
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