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SONNET 131Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art,As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel; For well thou know'st to my dear doting heart Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel. Yet, in good faith, some say that thee behold Thy face hath not the power to make love groan: To say they err, I dare not be so bold, Although I swear it to myself alone. And, to be sure that is not false I swear, A thousand groans, but thinking on thy face, One on another's neck, do witness bear Thy black is fairest in my judgment's place. In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds, And thence this slander, as I think, proceeds. NOTES CXXXI. The poet's mistress is as proud as though she were really beautiful. Others, indeed, decry her charms; but when they deny her beauty they must be looking at her conduct, which is indeed black. So far as the poet is concerned, the strength of his passion proclaims his estimate of her beauty. 6. Thy face hath not the power to make love groan. The poet's "thousand groans" (line 10) afford an answer, though, according to ordinary standards of beauty, he could not say that they are wrong (line 7) who make the assertion. 13. In nothing art thou black, save in thy deeds. Cf. cxlvii. 14, "Who art as black as hell, as dark as night;" and cxliv. 4, "The worser spirit a woman colour'd ill," &c. How to cite this article:______ Even More...  Stratford School Days: What Did Shakespeare Read? Games in Shakespeare's England [A-L] Games in Shakespeare's England [M-Z] An Elizabethan Christmas Clothing in Elizabethan England Queen Elizabeth: Shakespeare's Patron King James I of England: Shakespeare's Patron The Earl of Southampton: Shakespeare's Patron Going to a Play in Elizabethan London Ben Jonson and the Decline of the Drama Publishing in Elizabethan England Shakespeare's Audience Religion in Shakespeare's England Alchemy and Astrology in Shakespeare's Day Entertainment in Elizabethan England London's First Public Playhouse Shakespeare Hits the Big Time
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