Those parts of thee that the world's eye doth view,

Want nothing that the thought of hearts can mend:

All tongues (the voice of souls) give thee that due,
Uttering bare truth, even so as foes commend.
Thy outward thus with outward praise is crown'd;
But those same tongues that give thee so thine own
In other accents do this praise confound
By seeing farther than the eye hath shown.
They look into the beauty of thy mind,
And that, in guess, they measure by thy deeds;
Then (churls) their thoughts, although their eyes were kind,
To thy fair flower add the rank smell of weeds:
But why thy odour matcheth not thy show,
The solve is this, that thou dost common grow.
Analysis of Sonnet LXIX by William Shakespeare

In sonnet 69, William Shakespeare seems to address to the reader one of the flaws of humans,
and the social nature of humans; lying to get by, rather than telling the truth which involves the
entirety of society, down to the narrow individual, and subtly hints how one individual, or a group
of some, can spoil a group of good and humble people, as stated in line 12, when he states, to
thy fair flower, add the rank smell of weeds, where the fair flowers are the humble honest
people, and the weeds are the few who come along and ruin everything. In the opening lines, he
states that there are two kinds of people in the world, in terms of interacting with others. Simply,
those who tell the truth, even as foes commend, and those who dont tell the truth, and get
through life by manipulating and deceiving people, whether it be foe or friend. He first identifies
the people who say the truth as being those who are humble, like angels. This is one of
Shakespeares uses of dramatic imagery and giving the protagonist divine or angelic traits,
when he states that those who speak true are ...the voice of souls,give thee that due, uttering
bare truth even as foes commend. The voice of souls take on a humble and honest personality,
as souls is meant to mean angels. The part in which he says give thee that due, states that
these angelic voices give a chance, or set an example for others to tell the truth, as he then
stated that outward praise is crownd. Crowned meaning to be glorified, or at least, praised
and liked for being truthful. After introducing the protagonist, Shakespeare then introduces the
antagonist; the liars who get through life by manipulating and persuading. He states that these
people are cunning, witty, and deceiving. In his words, they do this By seeing farther than the
eye hath shown. They look into the beauty of thy mind By seeing farther than the eye has
shown, he means that these cunning individuals can see past a mans words, and seep into their
mind, using that to manipulating them. In the closing lines, he states these witty liars add the
rank smell of weeds. This is another use of Shakespeares dramatic imagery, and forceful
diction. These rank smelling weeds spoil the beauty of a fair flower, which are the innocent,
humble, and honest. Shakespeare then seems to come to peace with the two opposite forces,
in lines 13 and 14, when he states But why thy odour [ the odor being the weeds] matcheth not
thy shown, the soil is this, that thou dost common grow. This couplet at the end seems like a

rather peaceful, accepting tone. What he means by this couplet is, that even if the liars do lie
( who is addressed as thy) and not match their appearance, the soil, which is the Earth, or
the society they live in, is filled with these kind of people, and they grow, and multiply, which is
why he states that they are common, like weeds are compared to flowers. Flowers are more
delicate and harder to maintain its beauty, while weeds just pop up everywhere, not caring for
their ugliness or damage theyve done. The flowers are the voice of souls, and the weeds are
the liars, which, in the opening lines, he states as the other tongues.
This sonnet is very interesting, in that it actually captures the way society was living back then,
or, even today. Shakespeare observed life in the bustling city, and saw these kinds of
manipulation going on, and how the liars, scammers, and thieves are everywhere, like weeds,
and harder to get rid of, like weeds. The flowers were most likely the nobleman and women,
who are affected by the weeds, their beauty snuffed out by the rank smell and wickedness of the
weeds. The weeds made the flowers look bad, and not attractive, which, historically, was true
about London Paris, and Florence and the other big cities. Thieves, scammers, murderers, and
liars where everywhere. They were common, like weeds are in an unmaintained rose field. In
every corner, alley, tavern, or even in the aristocrat. These wicked people spoiled the cities
beauty, making it look unattractive, and a place to steer clear of. This is why Shakespeare states
that the soil is common with these people, meaning the known world at the time, which is the
soil, grows these common weeds, as they are easier to grow, and faster. However, they are
hard to get rid of, and, like the weeds that grow on the road sides, Shakespeare, or whoever the
narrator is, must continue to walk that road, regardless of its tainted beauty. He or she must not
be defeated, must not be pushed off of the road, by the weeds. He or she must trample on
them, making sure they do not grow, or come back again. He or she must preserve the beauty,
and continue to tread on this road, for is he/she steps off, the weeds will multiply, slowly taking
over what could have possibly been a great and mighty road, that leads to glory, fame or peace.
It is sonnet 69 that is the road the narrator treads upon, accepting its tainted beauty, and
carrying on steadfast.