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...

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.
Elizabethan England marked a time of tremendous social transition from a Church-controlled state to a state based increasingly on individual rights and freedoms. This transition transformed the concept of ethics and morality. The power of kings was also being called into question, as the merchant classes grew sufficiently enough in wealth and social standing to become an active voice in politics and the law. Shakespeare's Sonnet #29 and Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke's Psalm 51 reveal the shift taking place in Elizabethan culture. Shakespeare writes about morality in the context of utilitarian ethics and secular laws, whereas Herbert writes about morality in the context of Christianity and original sin. Their approaches to morality are completely different and yet because neither mentions any specific transgression, both poems retain a broad universal appeal.

Works Cited

Herbert, Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke. "Psalm 51." Retrieved July 15, 2009…