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Pallas Athene
SONNET NO. 82 I grant thou wert not married to my muse,
And there may'st without attaint o'er look
The dedicated words which writers use
Of their fair sui~ject, blessing every book
Thou art as fair in knowledge as in hue,
Finding thy worth a limit past my praise ,
And therefore art enforced to seek anew
Some fresher stamp of the time bettering days.
And do so love; yet when they have devised
What strained touches rhetoric can lend
Thou truly fair, wert truly sympathised,
In true plain words by thy true telling friend
And their gross painting might be better used
Where cheeks need blood; in thee it is abused.
Note the repetition of the following words, we find-truly,
truly, true, true, fair, fair, fair.
2nd Line. Attaint = discredit.
3rd Line. Dedicated words words used in the dedication
to a patron's name in a book.
8th Line. Time bettering = bettered by time.
10th Line. Strained touches = touches of exaggeration.
11th Line. Truly sympathised=represented to the life.
14th Line. Abused = misused.
This sonnet is also addressed by Bacon to Pallas Athenc
where she is told that she may overlook dedications which writers use in books written about their fair subject. He writes that she is as fair in knowledge as in appearance and so worthy
that his praise is beyond limit, so he has to seek for something
better and does so, and that she is sympathised in true plain
words by Bacon, her truth-telling friend. The author Shakes
spear.
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