Sonnet 94

Sonnet 94

by William Shakespeare

Facts on The Bard

• Born on April 23, 1564 and died on April 23, 1616
• Poet, playwright, and actor
• He wrote 154 sonnets and 37 plays.
• Called the Bard of Avon.
• Regarded as the greatest writer in the English language.
• He is buried at the Holy Trinity Church

The theme of Sonnet 94 continues from the previous sonnet which contracts virtue with appearance. Shakespeare is saying that people who have good qualities, such as beauty or wealth, have a right to those qualities. However, when they use those qualities to hurt others then they are ugly like weeds on the inside no matter how beautiful they are on the outside.

They that have power to hurt and will do none,

That do not do the thing they most do show,

Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,

Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow;

They rightly do inherit heaven's graces

And husband nature's riches from expense;

They are the lords and owners of their faces,

Others but stewards of their excellence

These eight lines of Sonnet 94 talk about a certain type of person Shakespeare describes as

• kind and compassionate
• not easily tempted
• having self- control
• inheriting blessings and eternal life

The summer's flower is to the summer sweet,

Though to itself it only live and die,

But if that flower with base infection meet,

The basest weed outbraves his dignity,

For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;

Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

The last part of Sonnet 94 is a metaphor. The "flower" represents a good person. If the flower (person) becomes sinful they have less dignity than the lowest weed (bad person). What this means is if the good person turns to living a sinful life then they are lower than the wicked person because the good person has more and has more chances to do good deeds for others.

Bio

• Born on November 14, 1840, in Paris, France.
• Known for being one of the most famous painters in the history of art and a leading figure in the Impressionist movement.
• Works can be seen in museums around the world.
• Struggled with depression, poverty and illness throughout his life.
• Died in 1926.

Simile- "They that have power ... are themselves as stone. "

Metaphors - "They" are compared to beautiful people and good people who are in control of themselves and then contrasted with an "infected" flower.

"Sweetest things" and "lillies" are compared to those who have the power to hurt and often do so.

"weeds " are compared to lowly and undignified people.

Personification - "Basest weed outbraves his dignity" - weeds are given a human quality of dignity.

Stone- cold, unemotional

Lords- control of themselves

Flower- beautiful, rich

Infection- negative change

Steward- looks after others

Sonnet 94

Presented by:

Anna Edwards

Cannon Dunn

Tyler Hughes

Theme

• Works Citied

http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323

www.shakespeare--online.com/sonnets/94.html

http://literary-devices.com

http://www.sonnets.org/basicforms.htm

http://www.claudemonetgallery.org/

http://youtu.be/5k9BJesa6pM

http://youtu.be/SvVbyHdZXI0

William Shakespeare

Claude Monet

Rhyme Scheme

They that have power to hurt and will do none, A

That do not do the thing they most do show, B

Who, moving others, are themselves as stone, A

Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow, B

They rightly do inherit heaven’s graces C

And husband nature’s riches from expense; D

They are the lords and owners of their faces, C

Others but stewards of their excellence. D

The summer’s flower is to the summer sweet, E

Though to itself it only live and die, F

But if that flower with base infection meet, E

The basest weed outbraves his dignity: F

For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; G

Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds. G

Last Six Lines

Connotation

Nympheas - (1897-1898)

Symbolic Meaning

The First Eight Lines

The flower in Sonnet 94 symbolizes a good person .

The weed symbolizes a wicked person

Literary and Poetical Devices

Summer symbolizes life itself.

Paraphrase Version

Those whose beauty gives them the power to hurt others, but who refuse to; those who look very sexy but won’t have sex; who attract other people but are themselves like stones—cold, unemotional, and difficult to tempt—those are the ones who will rightly inherit heaven’s blessings and keep nature’s treasures from being wasted. Those who have self-control truly own their beauty; the rest are only administering their beauty for others' use. The summer flower seems sweet to us in summer, though the flower itself may feel that it’s only living and dying. But if that flower lets itself be infected by a parasite, the lowest weed will be better, for the sweetest things have the capacity to turn the sourest by acting wrongly. Lilies that rot smell a lot worse than weeds.

Shakespearean Format

• Contains of 14 lines
• Written in iambic pentameter.
• Written in the standard rhyme scheme