Shakespeare Sonnet Ninety Nine

This sonnet is another one of Shakespeare comparing the speaker to beauty. This sonnet is the only sonnet out of the collection with fifteen lines. That's because the first line in the sonnet Shakespeare more saw as an introductory line rather than part of the first quatrain.

In the first quatrain Shakespeare is accusing an object of stealing something from his love. "Sweet thief," he calls it, saying that their complexion resembles that of the lover's which they have stolen too much from.

The second quatrain reveals that Shakespeare is scolding the flowers. Three flowers in particular, the lily, the rose, and violet. Shakespeare says also that buds of marjoram had stolen the sweet scent of his love's hair.

The third quatrain focuses mainly on the roses, saying that they are the chief thief in this affair. He says that they are white with despair and red with shame from stealing so much beauty. The couplet ends by saying that Shakespeare saw more and more flowers, yet could see none that hadn't stolen beauty from the lover.