Shakespeare’s Sonnet XCIV; The Epitome of High Renaissance Values and Virtue

The age of the Renaissance is a time of rebirth of classical humanistic ideals. Renaissance thinkers oftentimes associate themselves with classical values that date back to the times of ancient Greece and Rome. A central theme of the Renaissance stems from the idea of an individual having the capacity to reach their full potential through reason. William Shakespeare’s Sonnet XCIV encompasses the Renaissance ideals of what means to be noble, and illustrates the notion of the nature of power being fully achieved when an individual is ruled by logic and reason versus being ruled by passions and emotions. Sonnet XCIV appeals to the rational principle of an individual’s soul, and reveals an individual cannot rely on their senses or emotions that evolve from an irrational principle. The individual described in Sonnet XCIV is illustrated as someone who remains disinclined to revenge against others, yet maintains the ability to influence others. This is demonstrated in the first three lines stating, “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”. The main argument of the poem suggests though an individual cannot control the events that occur in life, they maintain an ability to control their emotions and how they would react in a situation. Lines 4-8 reemphasizes this point maintaining, “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, / Other but stewards of their excellence”. Again, Shakespeare depicts the individual in the poem as one who has mastered the art of controlling reason over passions.
I think Shakespeare’s Sonnet XCIV advocates the classical Platonic principles that lay emphasis on the importance of wise and ideal behavior through a rational and sound mind. According to Plato, through a rational mind and through reason an individual has the power to determine truth and rightness. In Plato’s Republic, Plato argues poetry does not have the capabilities to appeal to our reason, instead, it targets the weak spots of our emotions and senses, what he refers to as, “[an] affliction in our natures” (Book X) which ultimately is the root of one’s reason to be impaired. Yet, Shakespeare’s Sonnet XCIV does not appeal to emotions, rather it illustrates the strength of an individual lies in their abilities to make logical conclusions about what they feel or see, remaining unmoved or fooled by what their senses or feelings are telling them. Not only would this type of poetry be admitted into Plato’s Republic, I concur Sonnet XCIV is a nod to the Platonic ideals and principles that were revived and immensely studied during the age of the Renaissance.