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The Sonnets CXXI - Tis better to be vile than vile esteemd

By William Shakespeare

Topics: classic

Tis better to be vile than vile esteemd,     When not to be receives reproach of being;     And the just pleasure lost, which is so deemd     Not by our feeling, but by others seeing:     For why should others false adulterate eyes     Give salutation to my sportive blood?     Or on my frailties why are frailer spies,     Which in their wills count bad what I think good?     No, I am that I am, and they that level     At my abuses reckon up their own:     I may be straight though they themselves be bevel;     By their rank thoughts, my deeds must not be shown;     Unless this general evil they maintain,     All men are bad and in their badness reign.

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"Tis better to be vile than vile esteemd,..."

Exploring the themes of classic, William Shakespeare delivers a powerful performance in "The Sonnets CXXI - Tis better to be vile than vile esteemd"... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

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Author:William Shakespeare

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"Tis better to be vile than vile esteemd,..." by William Shakespeare

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

William Shakespeare

About William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English playwright and poet widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language. He wrote 154 sonnets and narrative poems including "Venus and Adonis" and "The Rape of Lucrece," alongside 37 plays that remain central to world literature.

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