Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art,
As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel;
For well thou know'st to my dear doting¹ heart
Thou art the fairest and most precious jewel.
Yet, in good faith, some say that thee behold
Thy face hath not the power to make love groan:
To say they err² I dare not be so bold,
Although I swear it to myself alone.
And, to be sure that is not false I swear,
A thousand groans³, but thinking on thy face,
One on another's neck, do witness bear
Thy black is fairest in my judgment's place.
  In nothing art thou black save in thy deeds,
  And thence this slander⁴, as I think, proceeds.

尽管你不算美，你的暴虐并不
亚于那些因美而骄横的女人；
因为你知道我的心那么糊涂，
把你当作世上的至美和至珍。
不过，说实话，见过你的人都说，
你的脸缺少使爱呻吟的魅力：
尽管我心中发誓反对这说法，
我可还没有公开否认的勇气。
当然我发的誓一点也不欺人；
数不完的呻吟，一想起你的脸，
马上联翩而来，可以为我作证：
对于我，你的黑胜于一切秀妍。
　　你一点也不黑，除了你的人品，
　　可能为了这原故，诽谤才流行。