Sonnet 85

The Rival Poet

Notes

TLN 1178archaic vocab
“comments of your praise richly compil'd”
Comments here means elaborate written compositions, not casual remarks but carefully constructed pieces of praise assembled and adorned with costly ornament. Reserve their character in the next line means preserve their written marks; character equals the written letters themselves. Together the lines picture rival poets storing up ornate golden-pen praise of the youth.
TLN 1182cultural context
“unlettered clerk still cry”
In English parish worship the clerk was a layman who led the congregation in set responses, most famously calling Amen at the end of prayers, even if he could not read. Unlettered means unable to read. The speaker reduces himself to this figure: he can only echo approval of what the more talented rival poets compose, adding nothing original of his own.