“Sonnet 94” was written by the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare and first published in 1609. The speaker begins this particular poem by praising the kind of beautiful, powerful person who practices extreme self-restraint. The speaker then switches gears, noting that even lovely flowers can become infected—and that rotting flowers are then worse than any weed. The implication is that the seemingly ideal person from the first half of the poem is like those flowers: though they might appear perfectly self-controlled on the outside, they're susceptible to corruption and capable of rotten behavior. “Sonnet 94” belongs to what scholars call the "Fair Youth" sequence, 126 of Shakespeare's sonnets addressed to an unnamed young man with whom the speaker has an intimate relationship.
|
Get
LitCharts
|
|
The Full Text of “Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"”
1They that have power to hurt and will do none,
2That do not do the thing they most do show,
3Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
4Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow:
5They rightly do inherit heaven's graces
6And husband nature's riches from expense;
7They are the lords and owners of their faces,
8Others but stewards of their excellence.
9The summer's flower is to the summer sweet
10Though to itself it only live and die,
11But if that flower with base infection meet,
12The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
13For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
14Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
The Full Text of “Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"”
1They that have power to hurt and will do none,
2That do not do the thing they most do show,
3Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
4Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow:
5They rightly do inherit heaven's graces
6And husband nature's riches from expense;
7They are the lords and owners of their faces,
8Others but stewards of their excellence.
9The summer's flower is to the summer sweet
10Though to itself it only live and die,
11But if that flower with base infection meet,
12The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
13For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
14Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
-
“Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"” Summary
-
-
“Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"” Themes
-
The Value of Restraint
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
Corruption and Hypocrisy
- See where this theme is active in the poem.
-
-
Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"”
-
Lines 1-2
They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show, -
Lines 3-4
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
Unmoved, cold, and to temptation slow: -
Lines 5-6
They rightly do inherit heaven's graces
And husband nature's riches from expense; -
Lines 7-8
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others but stewards of their excellence. -
Lines 9-10
The summer's flower is to the summer sweet
Though to itself it only live and die, -
Lines 11-12
But if that flower with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity: -
Lines 13-14
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.
-
-
“Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"” Symbols
-
The Flower
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
Weeds
- See where this symbol appears in the poem.
-
-
“Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
-
Metaphor
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Simile
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Personification
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Irony
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Caesura
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Assonance
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Sibilance
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
Juxtaposition
- See where this poetic device appears in the poem.
-
-
“Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Heaven's graces
- Husband
- Expense
- Stewards
- Base
- Outbraves
-
- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
-
Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"”
-
Form
-
Meter
-
Rhyme Scheme
-
-
“Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"” Speaker
-
-
“Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"” Setting
-
-
Literary and Historical Context of “Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"”
-
-
More “Sonnet 94: "They that have power to hurt"” Resources
-
External Resources
-
What Is a Sonnet? — Learn more about the poetic form that Shakespeare helped popularize.
-
First Printing of the Sonnets (1609) — Check out scans of the first printing of the sonnets via the British Library.
-
"Sonnet 94" Read Aloud — Listen to actor Sir Patrick Stewart read "Sonnet 94" out loud.
-
More on Shakespeare's Life — Learn more about the man behind the sonnets.
-
The Mysterious Identity of the "Fair Youth: — This article attempts to unravel the mystery of the fair youth.
-
-
LitCharts on Other Poems by William Shakespeare
-
Ask LitCharts AI:
The answer to your questions
Powered by LitCharts content and AI.
