Elizabethan Love Poetry Is Laden

Elizabethan love poetry is laden with themes related to morality, such as in relation to sexual relations. Many Elizabethan poems also address morality in the general context of ethics and social grace. Morality is sometimes referred to in a political context as well. William Shakespeare's Sonnet #29 is one such poem that addresses morality within the context of politics and social norms. Sonnet #29 displays the poet's remarkable ability to convey moral meaning without being pedantic. Moreover, the sonnet reveals a secular set of morals. Alternatively, a set of religious Christian morals is addressed in Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke's Psalm 51. Simply calling her poems psalms reveals Herbert's religiosity. The poem also reads like a guilt-ridden confessional and therefore has a different tone than Shakespeare's Sonnet #29. Shakespeare and Herbert demonstrate the distinction between secular and religious moral attitudes that emerged in Elizabethan England.

One of the differences between secular and religious morality is that secular morality refers simply to being in conflict with mundane social norms, whereas religious morality refers to a state of sin. In other words, Herbert suggests that following social norms is insufficient; a person must be in tune with God. Shakespeare, on the other hand, implies that social norms define morality. For example, the narrator of Shakespeare's Sonnet #29 begins by stating he or she is "in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes," (l 1). Shakespeare's sonnet completely lacks any reference to God in the context of moral righteousness. The narrator is concerned about his or her social standing and of being an outcast but not necessarily about angering God or facing spiritual perdition. Mary Sidney Herbert, on the other hand, describes moral virtue only within the context of a relationship with God. The narrator of Herbert's Psalm 51 places moral transgression squarely within the framework of spiritual sin and implores, "wipe, O Lord, my sins from sinful me," (l 4).

Another difference between secular and religious morality is the preferred method of absolution. When the narrator of Shakespeare's Sonnet #29 seeks absolution he or she does not petition the Lord. In fact, the narrator does not seem remorseful at all. The last line of the sonnet reads, "I scorn to change my state with kings," which suggests that the narrator feels morally justified for whatever action led to his being a pariah (l 14). On the other hand, Herbert's narrator in Pslam 51 repeatedly begs the Lord for grace and forgiveness. Likewise, the narrator of Herbert's poem expresses shame in a way that the narrator of Shakespeare's Sonnet #29 does not. "My filthy fault, my faulty filthiness," is an example of how the narrator feels inherently dirty and sinful (Herbert l 9). The narrator of Shakespeare's Sonnet #29 is angry at himself but does not feel so innately sinful. For example, the narrator states, "in these thoughts myself almost despising," (l 9). He "almost" despises himself but still seems not to think that his actions were absolutely wrong. Furthermore, the narrator of the Shakespeare Sonnet finds solace and comfort in thinking of his lover. By thinking of the one he loves, a human being, the narrator feels absolved of any wrongdoing. The narrator of the Shakespeare Sonnet is more concerned with the consequences of his actions, such as being an outcast, than with whether the action was right or wrong. For Herbert, morality is quite the opposite. Herbert suggests that the human condition is itself a state of sin.

Therefore, a central difference between secular and religious morality as expressed in Elizabethan poetry is between absolute and situational ethics. For Herbert, morality is based on a set of absolute values that God and only God can create. God is the "Just Judge" and God's judgments transcend any human laws (l 12). Moreover, Herbert directly refers to the Christian concept of original sin. The narrator moans, "My mother, lo! when I began to be, / Conceiving me, with me did sin conceive," (l 15-16). According to Herbert's concept of morality, no human being can ever become truly absolved of sin. The very condition of being human is portrayed as a moral transgression. The narrator of Shakespeare's Sonnet #29 has a different vision or morality and the human condition. For one, the narrator of Sonnet #29 is far more individualistic in his or her approach to morality than Herbert is. The narrator of Sonnet #29 committed some act that led to his being ostracized from the community. By not mentioning the act, and especially by not expressing remorse, the narrator expressly espouses a utilitarian ethic. The last line of Sonnet #29 especially reveals the narrator's utilitarian ethic. When he claims, "I scorn to change my state with kings," he is directly claiming that being an outcast was well worth whatever crime was committed.