She sat like Patience on a monument, 1017 Smiling at grief.
This powerful image shows silent suffering. “Patience on a monument” suggests a statue — unmoving, dignified, and eternal. Smiling while grieving suggests deep emotional control or resignation. It’s Viola’s hidden pain, disguised as calm.
She never told her love, 1013 But let concealment, like a worm i’ th’ bud, 1014 Feed on her damask cheek.
Viola’s metaphor compares hidden love to a worm eating a flower from the inside. It suggests that not expressing love causes internal pain and decay, even if everything looks fine on the surface. The “damask cheek” symbolizes beauty being silently consumed.