Analysis of sonnet 20 by William Shakespeare

The sonnet belongs to the collection of “ Marriage sonnet “ the one dedicated to the fair youth.

Considering the structure, the reader can certify that sonnet follows the traditional Elizabethan model. Indeed the sonnet is arranged into three quatrains with alternated rhyme and a rhyming couplet. 

The sonnet starts with an image: a woman’s face painted by nature’s hand. The reader can create a mental image of beauty and grace and he can suppose that the image is someone linked with the addressee.

Indeed, in the second line, the reader knows that the speaking voice links female beauty to the Fair Youth, defined him the “ master mistress of my passion “. 

In the first quatrain the speaking voice magnifies his beloved, the fair youth, revealing that he is totally involved by his passion. 

The speaker’s beloved is gentle and loyal but he is not changeable and fickly like nowadays women. In addition the fair youth is perfect and he doesn’t lack anything.

The second quatrain stay on the semantic field of body, focusing on the face.

The first line expresses the effect of such perfection: the fair youth is an irresistible attraction on both men and women. The fair youth amazes women’s soul and steal’s men’s eyes. Shakespeare wants to convey a universal message: when you fall in love with somebody your beloved seems perfect to you because you magnify his or her qualities.

In the third quatrain the speaking voice tells to the reader that nature gave to the fair youth such a perfect female beauty, gentleness and grace and he became so attractive to capture Nature’s love which wanted him to be a man.

In addition nature stole the fair youth to the speaking voice so the expression “ my purpose “ refers to the speaker’s  sexual desire, that can’t be satisfied since nature wanted the fair youth to be a man.  

Here Shakespeare’s message is that beauty has no genre, you could be fascinated and attracted by a man or by a woman.

In the rhyming couplet should be the conclusion, the solution of the speaker’s trouble. But there isn’t one because nature can’t be controlled or changed by human beings. The speaker won’t find a solution to satisfy his desire.

In the last line the poet reveals a partial solution of the problem. He will own the fair youth’s love but only the spiritual love.