Summary

Sonnet 9 opens with the speaker imagining the last night of the world and questioning what would happen to him if the world ended now. The speaker then transitions into wondering whether coming face to face with God will "affright" him (4). As he questions this fate, he conjures an image of Christ on the cross, describing him with "tears in his eyes [that] quench the amazing light" and "blood [that] fills his frowns, which from his pierc'd head fell" (5-6). The speaker wonders whether the merciful Christ would truly condemn someone to hell. In the sestet, the speaker asserts that in his relationships with women he had told them that beauty is a sign of pity. Then, to end the sonnet, the speaker concludes that what he told his mistresses also applies to Christ—that there is no way such a beautiful picture could...