Read the lines from Spenser’s "Amoretti LV: So oft as I her beauty do behold."So oft as I her beauty do behold,And therewith do her cruelty compare,I marvel of what substance was the mouldThe which her made at once so cruel-fair.Now read the lines from Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 131."Thou art as tyrannous, so as thou art,As those whose beauties proudly make them cruel;For well thou know’st to my dear doting heartThou art the fairest and most precious jewel.
Both passages describe a woman whose beauty is paired with cruelty. Spenser says he marvels that she could be made “so cruel-fair,” while Shakespeare calls her “tyrannous” and says beautiful people can be cruel. In this context, cruelty means unkindness, so the best choice is “unkindness.”
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