Precious Stones Mentioned in Poems of Shakespeare
Diamond
The diamond—why ’twas beautiful and hard. “Lover’s Complaint”, l. 211.
SAPPHIRE
The heaven-hued sapphire and the opal blend With objects manifold. Idem, l. 215.
PEARLS
Her tears began to turn their tide, Being prison’d in her eye like pearls in glass. “Venus and Adonis”, l. 980.
G, verso, l. 1, 2.
PEARLS
And wiped the brinish pearl from her bright eyes. “Lucrece”, l. 1213.
I 2, l. 2.
PEARLS
Those round clear pearls of his, that move thy pity, Are balls of quenchless fire to burn thy city. Idem, l. 1553.
L. 2, verso, l. 6, 7.
PEARLS
Of paled pearls and rubies red as blood. “Lover’s Complaint”, l. 198.
PEARLS
Ah! but those tears are pearls which thy love sheds. Sonnet XXXIV, l. 13.
C 4, l. 13.
PEARLS
Bright orient pearl, alack, too timely shaded! “Passionate Pilgrim”, l. 133.
B 4, l. 3.
OPAL
The heaven-hued sapphire and the opal blend With objects manifold. “Lover’s Complaint”, l. 215.
RUBY
Once more the ruby-colour’d portal open’d. “Venus and Adonis”, l. 451.
D ii, verso, l. 1.
RUBY
Of paled pearls and rubies red as blood. “Lover’s Complaint”, l. 198.
EMERALD
The deep-green emerald, in whose fresh regard Weak sights their sickly radiance do amend. Idem, l. 213.
ROCK-CRYSTAL
But hers through which the crystal tears gave light, Shone like the moon in water seen by night. “Venus and Adonis”, l. 491.
D iii, l. 16, 17.
ROCK-CRYSTAL
Nor thy soft hands, sweet lips, and crystal eyne. “Venus and Adonis”, l. 633.
E ii, l. 15.
ROCK-CRYSTAL
The crystal tide that from her two cheeks fair In the sweet channel of her bosom dropt. Idem, l. 957.
G, l. 3, 4.
ROCK-CRYSTAL
Her eyes seen in the tears, tears in her eye; Both crystals, where they view’d each other’s sorrow. Idem, l. 962, 963.
G, l. 8, 9.
ROCK-CRYSTALS
Through crystal walls each little mote will peep. “Lucrece”, l. 1251.
I 2, verso, l. 19.
ROCK-CRYSTAL
A closet never pierced with crystal eyes. Sonnet XLVI, l. 6.
D 2, verso, l. 6.
ROCK-CRYSTAL
Favours from a maund 32 she drew Of amber, crystal, and of beaded jet. “Lover’s Complaint”, l. 37.
ROCK-CRYSTAL
Who glazed with crystal gate the glowing roses. “Lover’s Complaint”, l. 286.
AMBER
With coral clasps and amber studs. “Passionate Pilgrim”, l. 366.
D 4, verso, l. 2.
AMBER
Favours from a maund she drew Of amber, crystal, and of beaded jet. “Lover’s Complaint”, l. 37.
JET
as above.
CORAL
That sweet coral mouth Whose precious taste her thirsty lips well knew. “Venus and Adonis”, l. 542.
D iv, l. 20, 21.
CORAL
Her alabaster skin, Her coral lips, her snow white dimpled chin. “Lucrece”, l. 420.
D 3, l. 7.
CORAL
Like ivory conduits coral cisterns filling. Idem, l. 1234.
I 2, verso, l. 2.
CORAL
Coral is far more red than her lips’ red. Sonnet CXXX, l. 2.
H 4,1. 2.
CORAL
A belt of straw and ivy buds. With coral clasps and amber studs. “Passionate Pilgrim”, 1. 366. D 4, verso, l. 1, 2. 33
While it cannot be regarded as certain that whenever Shakespeare writes of jewels or of rings he means those in which precious stones were set, several of the passages more or less clearly indicate this, and we therefore present here the more characteristic of the lines in question:
A Death’s face in a ring. Love’s Labour’s Lost, Act v, sc. 2, l. 616.
“Comedies”, p. 142, col. A, line 36.
The dearest ring in Venice will I give you. Merchant of Venice, Act iv, sc. 1, l. 435.
“Comedies”, p. 181, col. B, line 27.
Diana. O behold this ring Whose high respect and rich validity Did lack a parallel; yet for all that He gave it to a commoner of the camp, If I be one.
Count. He blushes, and ’tis it: Of six preceding ancestors, that gem, Conferr’d by testament to the sequent issue, Hath it been owned and worn. All’s Well That Ends Well, Act v, sc. 3, l. 191-198.
“Comedies”, p. 253, col. A, lines 1-8.
My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter! Fled with a Christian! O my Christian ducats! Justice! the law! my ducats and my daughter! A sealed bag, two sealed bags of ducats, Of double ducats, stolen from me by my daughter! And jewels, two stones, two rich and precious stones, Stolen by my daughter! Justice! find the girl; She hath the stones upon her, and the ducats. Merchant of Venice, Act ii, sc. 8, l. 15-22.
“Comedies”, p. 171, col. B, lines 23-30.
I would my daughter were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear! Merchant of Venice, Act iii, sc. 1, l. 92.
“Comedies”, p. 173, col. B, lines 1, 2.
Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head. As You Like It, Act ii, sc. 1, l. 13-15.
“Comedies”, p. 190, col. A, lines 10-12.
Win her with gifts, if she respect not words: Dumb jewels often in their silent kind More than quick words do move a woman’s mind. Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act iii, sc. 1, l. 89-91.
“Comedies”, p. 29, col. A, lines 63-65.
I frown the while; and perchance wind up my watch, or play with my—some rich jewel. Twelfth Night, Act ii, sc. 5, l. 64-66.
“Comedies”, p. 263, col. B, lines 32, 33.
A jewel in a ten-times-barr’d-up chest Is a bold spirit in a loyal breast. King Richard II, Act i, sc. 1, l. 180, 181.
“Histories”, p. 24, col. B, lines 28, 29.
This royal throne of Kings, this scepter’d isle, This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars, This other Eden, demi-paradise, This fortress built by Nature for herself Against infection and the hand of war, This happy breed of men, this little world, This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happier lands, This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England. King Richard II, Act ii, sc. 1, l. 40-46.
“Histories”, p. 28, col. B, lines 17-23.
In argument and proof of which contract, Bear her this jewel, pledge of my affection. I Henry VI, Act v, sc. 2, l. 46, 47.
“Histories”, p. 115, col. A, lines 8, 9.
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night, Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear; Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear. Romeo and Juliet, Act i, sc. 5, l. 47-49.
“Tragedies”, p. 57, col. B, lines 59-61.
But chiefly to take thence from her dead finger A precious ring, a ring that I must use In dear employment. Romeo and Juliet, Act v, sc. 3, l. 30-32.
“Tragedies”, p. 75, col. A, lines 34-36.
A striking proof that Shakespeare had no fear of tautology when he wished to strengthen the impression of a word by constant reiteration is given in the Merchant of Venice (Act v, sc. 2), whence we have already quoted a few lines. The passage concerns the disposal by Bassanio of a ring he had received from Portia, and he answers her thus in the First Folio text: 34
Bassanio. Sweet Portia,
If you did know to whom I gave the Ring, If you did know for whom I gave the Ring, And would conceive for what I gave the Ring, And how unwillingly I left the Ring, When naught would be accepted but the Ring, You would abate the strength of your displeasure.
Portia. If you had knowne the virtue of the Ring, Or halfe her worthinesse that gave the Ring, Or your owne honour to contains the Ring, You would not then have parted with the Ring.
It was probably more than a coincidence that Shakespeare’s first printed book, “Venus and Adonis”, was published, in 1593, by a fellow-townsman, Richard Field, who had come up to London from Stratford when a mere boy. Undoubtedly, when Shakespeare met him in the bustle of city life, the common memories of their quieter native town served at once as an introduction and as a link between them. Field also published Shakespeare’s “Lucrece” in the year 1594. He had been a freeman of the Stationers’ Company from February 6, 1587, and died either in the year the First Folio was issued, or in the succeeding year, 1624.
Notes
32 Basket, or hamper.
33 References are here given to the original editions of “Venus and Adonis”, 1593 (unique copy in the Malone Collection in the Bodleian Library, Oxford); “Lucrece”, 1594; “Passionate Pilgrim”, 1599, and Sonnets, 1609. As there is no continuous pagination, the letters and numbers refer to the page signatures and to the line of the page.