Sonnet 20 by William Shakespeare: Summary, Meaning & Analysis
Sonnet 20 is Shakespeare's lighthearted and loving tribute to a young man whose beauty and character blend the finest qualities of both genders.
The poem
A woman’s face with nature’s own hand painted, Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion; A woman’s gentle heart, but not acquainted With shifting change, as is false women’s fashion: An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling, Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth; A man in hue all ‘hues’ in his controlling, Which steals men’s eyes and women’s souls amazeth. And for a woman wert thou first created; Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting, And by addition me of thee defeated, By adding one thing to my purpose nothing. But since she prick’d thee out for women’s pleasure, Mine be thy love and thy love’s use their treasure.
Sonnet 20 is Shakespeare's lighthearted and loving tribute to a young man whose beauty and character blend the finest qualities of both genders. Shakespeare humorously suggests that Nature, initially crafting the young man as a woman, became so fond of him that she decided to give him a male body. This means that while the young man is not romantically available to the poet, he still holds a special place in Shakespeare's heart. It's one of the most openly gender-bending poems in the entire sequence.
Line-by-line
A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted…
A man in hue, all hues in his controlling…
And for a woman wert thou first created…
But since she pricked thee out for women's pleasure…
Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure.
Tone & mood
The tone is playful and warm, with a genuine longing bubbling beneath the jokes. Shakespeare is playfully poking fun — at himself as much as anyone — about a situation he can't alter. There's cleverness in nearly every line, but the final couplet reveals a more subdued, sincere emotion. Picture it as a love letter crafted with a smirk that gradually transforms into something heartfelt.
Symbols & metaphors
- Nature as a craftsperson — By portraying Nature as an artist who paints and then 'pricks out' her creation, Shakespeare elevates the youth's beauty to something nearly divine and destined — it's not mere luck, but a purposeful design.
- The woman's face — The feminine traits seen in the young man reflect the ideal of Renaissance beauty, which was often portrayed in androgynous ways. This subtly casts the youth as a figure of universal desire, transcending typical gender distinctions.
- The 'addition' (male anatomy) — Nature's sudden physical change serves as the poem's humorous turning point. It acts as the barrier between the poet's love and its physical fulfillment, and Shakespeare approaches it with a sense of wry acceptance instead of bitterness.
- Treasure — The closing word transforms physical pleasure into something valuable and desirable — but by assigning it to women, Shakespeare positions his own share (the youth's heart) as the rarer, more prized part.
Historical context
Sonnet 20 is located near the beginning of the 'Fair Youth' sequence, which comprises the first 126 sonnets in Shakespeare's 1609 collection, all directed at a beautiful young man whose identity remains unknown. In Elizabethan England, there was a vibrant tradition of poetry celebrating male friendships that allowed for emotional expression between men without being perceived as scandalous — although Sonnet 20 stretches that convention further than most. The sonnet also interacts with the theatrical reality of the time: on the Elizabethan stage, boy actors took on women's roles, making the distinction between male and female appearances a public and everyday performance. Shakespeare employs a feminine rhyme scheme throughout — with every line ending on an unstressed syllable — which serves as a formal joke that reflects the poem's themes.
FAQ
It's the most commonly referenced sonnet in that debate, yet it doesn't provide a definitive answer. The poem clearly states that a physical relationship isn't taking place, and scholars have differing opinions on whether the passionate emotional language reveals Shakespeare's true feelings or serves as a literary performance within the established tradition of male friendship poetry. What it illustrates is Shakespeare's comfort in exploring desire and gender in ways that don't align perfectly with contemporary categories.
Nobody knows for sure. The two leading candidates are Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, and William Herbert, the Earl of Pembroke — both of whom were patrons of Shakespeare. The 1609 dedication to 'Mr. W.H.' has sparked centuries of speculation, but no clear answer has ever come to light.
It operates on two levels at once. In straightforward Elizabethan English, "to prick out" referred to marking or picking something from a list. Shakespeare uses it to suggest that Nature selected the young man for women's enjoyment — and the secondary, risqué meaning (implying male genitalia) is clearly intentional. This pun is among the most frequently debated in all of Shakespeare's works.
A feminine rhyme concludes with an unstressed syllable (e.g., 'painted / acquainted'). Shakespeare employs this technique throughout the entire sonnet—an uncommon choice—as a formal reflection of the poem's subject: a man embodying feminine traits. The structure mirrors the content effectively. It's a clever approach.
It follows the early 'procreation sonnets' (1–17), which encourage the young man to have children, and it comes right before the sequence explores more intricate emotions like love, jealousy, and the passage of time. Sonnet 20 serves as a turning point — it's the first poem to directly express the poet's feelings for the young man, establishing the emotional stakes for what comes next.
Shakespeare suggests that you were crafted so perfectly that Nature herself wished to retain you, so she made you male. This means that while women may possess your body, your heart belongs to me. It's a clever way to transform a letdown into a form of triumph.
Yes and no. It follows the typical structure — three quatrains and a final couplet, rhyming ABAB CDCD EFEF GG — but the feminine endings on every line set it apart. No other Shakespeare sonnet maintains this pattern consistently.
It views gender as fluid and constructed instead of fixed. The youth embodies both masculine and feminine traits, and Nature is depicted as making a deliberate choice about which body to assign him. For a poem from around 1600, this perspective is surprisingly modern.