Sonnet 20

IN vaine I seeke and sew1 to her for grace,

And doe myne humbled hart before her poure:

The whiles her foot she in my necke doth place,

And tread my life downe in the lowly floure2.

And yet the lyon, that is lord of powre,

And reigneth ouer euery beast in field:

In his most pride disdeigneth to devoure

The silly lambe that to his might doth yield3.

But she, more cruell and more saluage wylde,

Then either lyon or the lyonesse:

Shames not4 to be with guiltlesse bloud defylde,

But taketh glorie in her cruelnesse.

Fayrer then fairest, let none euer say,

That ye were blooded in a yeelded pray5.

注释：1.sew：请求。

2.floure：地板，地面。

3.yield：以前人们认为狮子是高尚的动物。恋人把自己比作傻乎乎的羔羊。

4.not：不害臊的。

5.pray：只有糟糕的捕猎者才会杀死一个已经投降的猎物。