The Design of Sonnet 20

Shakespearian sonnets are one of the most recognized forms of poetry today.  His collection of sonnets has influenced poets from the time of their publication and they serve as the penultimate model for romantic poetry.  William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 20 is a great example of his poetic ingenuity because it serves as a turning point in the direction of his sonnets.  They all express a certain ambiguity within them about their meaning which is directed by the structure of the poem itself, and sonnet 20 is a particularly interesting example because the entire poem is written out of form with the rest of them.  The Shakespearian sonnet consists of three quatrains followed by a couplet most of which are in iambic pentameter.  Sonnet 20 follows the basic structure; however it has one extra syllable in each of its lines breaking the form of iambic pentameter.  The break in poetic form is usually a sign to the reader that this particular line is important or significant in some way or that the meaning text is not what is on the surface, but it is hidden in a double meaning.  The fact that the entirety of sonnet 20 is one syllable over meter points out that it is a fundamentally important sonnet to the meaning and overall context for the rest of the collection. 

Sonnet 20’s unique derivation from the regular form of the Shakespearian sonnet indicates that William Shakespeare intended this particular poem to stand out in the reader’s mind, it is intended to carry crucial information which influences the meanings of nearly all the other sonnets in this collection.  Sonnet 20 is also quite interesting because throughout the poem there is a theme of binary pairs.  The male and female, true and false, passion/pleasure and love, these pairs are highlighted in the poem, standing in opposition to one another yet expressed all within the same person.  Shakespeare addresses the sexuality of his subject as well as the nature of his desire for his subject in this sonnet and the structure of the rhyme, meter, and even the interior composition of each line influences its meaning.

            Sonnet 20 has a normal rhyme scheme of a Shakespearian sonnet consisting of 3 sets of quatrains followed by a couplet.  Each quatrain consists of four lines with an alternating rhyme scheme of A-B-A-B.  The rhyming pattern in sonnet 20 does not break from this structure, however within the normal scheme there is still room for placement of profound meaning.  They rhyming pattern of the sonnet creates a medium for the poet to express a double meaning in his words.  The use of certain words instead of others and the modification of normal words to fit a rhyme scheme allude to the importance of these words and require extra attention. 

The third quatrain of this sonnet uses a particularly interesting rhyme, which although the words are spelled with the same lettering they don’t necessarily rhyme when pronounced.  Lines 10 and 12 of the sonnet end with the words ‘created’ and ‘defeated’, which to the eye seem like they should rhyme, but when said aloud, one must alter the pronunciation of ‘defeated’ to ‘de-fated’ which contains in itself another meaning.  The meaning of this slant rhyme is pretty clear taken from the context of the literal verse.  The addition of the idea of defeat is added to by the concept of fate, which is prevalent in much of Shakespeare’s works, such as Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Richard III and others.  The incorporation of fate into this work brings about the idea that it was fated that the poet should love the young man, but never be able to consummate this love because it was against the will of nature.  The word choice in sonnet 20 alludes to the anger which the poet feels towards this ill fate. Yet at the same time he accepts his inability to physically have his desires satisfied because of the inevitability of fate thus necessarily modifying the nature of his love.

The couplet at the end of a sonnet is intended to carry or solidify an overarching meaning established by the preceding sets of quatrains.  The couplet consists of two lines which normally rhyme and they serve as a way to neatly wrap up the sonnet and tie up the end of the rhyme.  The couplet of this sonnet carries no less significance than the rest because it too is one syllable over meter.  The intention of this dissonance with the normal iambic scheme indicates that what he is saying is either very important and that it could be that he is either stressing the meaning of his words or it is possible that the poet is telling us that there is another meaning to be found. 

Shakespeare chooses terms in this sonnet which present binary opposition in many of the lines contrasting often between male and female, light and dark, and true and false.  The association of the subject of his poem is to both sides of the binary, making the young man who is spoken about a mediator between the two and as such an object of desire for the poet.  The man is a ‘master mistress’ which in the context of the sonnet is read that he is both the master and the lady of the house which is the poet’s passion, but read more closely implies that the youth is a master at keeping their sexual passions a secret, much like a female mistress must do.  The word choice added to the structural composition of this sonnet, which implies that there’s more than meets the eye, allows for various interpretations upon these details and gives a certain ambiguity to Shakespeare’s intent.

It could have easily been that Shakespeare made the last line of the sonnet within iambic pentameter by removing the word ‘be’ and retaining the overall meaning of the sentence, but it is there causing the extra syllable.  Much like any of the other lines, there is an obvious intent in causing the entire sonnet to break the iambic pentameter scheme and as to what this intent is I believe that it signifies that the poet is saying more than what the words are presenting.  By using the binary opposition of the male-female roles and gendered words the poet portrays the young man he speaks of as if he were a woman, and despite his physical gender, the poet regards him as his ‘mistress’. 

            Negation and affirmation in the sonnet are used as powerful tools to create added meaning to the individual lines as well as the overall context of the poem.  In lines 3 and 4 the poet is describing his lover’s heart as being ‘gentle’ like a woman’s but more temperate than a normal “false woman’s fashion”.  The use of the negation in line four has a double meaning because of the ambiguity of its subject.  The falsehood of the subject is on the surface meaning that women who are unfaithful have a certain way of acting, but the hidden meaning implies that there is a certain way that false women (meaning a man playing a feminine role) normally behave.  The implication here is that the men who play feminine roles in life or sexual relationships are inconstant in the expression of this role.  The “false women’s” hearts are subject to a “shifting change” and may deny the fact that they are playing the part of a woman at all.  The use of negation in this line adds a compound meaning to the sentence and makes it incredibly clear that not only is his subject more honest than a woman, but he is even more honest than a normal male lover.

            The sonnet is divided into two parts, both of which deal with describing the object of the poet’s desire.  The first describes the power of his love’s appeal in his appearance and in his demeanor. The second deals with the poet’s disappointment and acceptance of the impossibility of the consummation of his love.  The language of the first part is full of adjectives which describe the man as gentle in his heart, yet powerful in and by the beauty of his appearance.  The man has a “gentle heart” and bright eyes, “less false in rolling”, meaning that he is caring, intelligent, and honest.  The power of his appearance is expressed in the beauty which is attributed to him.  The man has a “woman’s face” which is naturally beautiful, untouched by cosmetics.  His beauty is the “master [and] mistress” of the poet’s passion.  The poet’s description of his subject alludes to the presence which they possess, in lines 7 and 8 the poet describes him as a “man in hue, all hues in his controlling”, meaning that not only is he a man in form or silhouette, but he has the ability to take on any form he chooses and has control over all of them.  When this person enters the room all people take notice, he “steals men’s eyes” not only because of his physical beauty but because of this aura about him.

            The second half of the sonnet is devoted to the personal feelings which the poet has towards this man. Sonnet 20 is rife with sexually explicit language from reference to the male genitals to eroticism of homosexuality.  Lines 9 through 14 are almost entirely devoted to expressing the poet’s disappointment at his subject having been born with a penis and that this fact makes it impossible that he should take the expression of his love to its greatest length.  There are words and phrases laden with double meaning all alluding to a phallus and the fact that it defeats the poet’s desires.  The adjectives used to describe the way nature has created the man are used in such a way to not only describe the actual action of creation, but also allude to the parts which are made.  The obvious connotation behind the word “pricked” in line 13 alluding to his penis being chosen for “women’s pleasure” prevents him from being a sexual partner in the conventional sense of a heterosexual relationship as well as the literal meaning being that the man was chosen to suit women’s desires.  The poet in line 14 however, accepts the physical reality of the man he desires and accepts that though he cannot possess a truly fulfilling physical relationship, the poet may still be a lover in spirit and the man may yet satisfy women in a physical nature.

            Sonnet 20 of William Shakespeare’s collection of over 150 poems is a pivotal point in the collection because it is an expression of physical and emotional desire for this young man as well as a self-realization that the poet was defeated from the beginning by nature and it is not in his fate to be able to have his passions fulfilled.  The sonnet is constructed in such a way that multiple layers of meaning are made available and through the use of altered meter, subtle choice of language, and rhyme the poet conveys his dual meaning.  The passions of the poet’s words are enhanced through the duality of his language while his physical lust and ultimate disappointment is hidden under a layer of apparent ambiguity.

20

Line

            1                      A woman’s face with Nature’s own hand painted

            2                      Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion;

            3                      A woman’s gentle heart but not acquainted

            4                      With shifting change as is false women’s fashion:

            5                      An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,

            6                      Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;

            7                      A man in hue all hues in his controlling,

            8                      Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth.

            9                      And for a woman wert thou first created,

            10                    Till Nature as she wrought thee fell a-doting,

            11                    And by addition me of thee defeated,

            12                    By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.

            13                          But since she pricked thee out for women’s pleasure,

            14                          Mine be thy love, and thy love’s use their treasure.