Shakespeare’s sonnet
From fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty’s rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heir might bear his memory:
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed’st thy light’st flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world’s fresh ornament
And only herald to the gaudy spring,
Within thine own bud buriest thy content
And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding.
Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
To eat the world’s due, by the grave and thee.
Summary: Sonnet 1
The first sonnet takes it as a given that “From fairest creatures we desire increase”—
that is, that we desire beautiful creatures to multiply, in order to preserve their “beauty’s
rose” for the world. That way, when the parent dies (“as the riper should by time decease”),
the child might continue its beauty (“His tender heir might bear his memory”). In the second
quatrain, the speaker chides the young man he loves for being too self-absorbed to think
of procreation: he is “contracted” to his own “bright eyes,” and feeds his light with the fuel
of his own loveliness. The speaker says that this makes the young man his own unwitting
enemy, for it makes “a famine where abundance lies,” and hoards all the young man’s
beauty for himself. In the third quatrain, he argues that the young man may now be
beautiful—he is “the world’s fresh ornament / And only herald to the gaudy spring”—
but that, in time, his beauty will fade, and he will bury his “content” within his flower’s
own bud (that is, he will not pass his beauty on; it will wither with him). In the couplet,
the speaker asks the young man to “pity the world” and reproduce, or else be a glutton
who, like the grave, eats the beauty he owes to the whole world.
that is, that we desire beautiful creatures to multiply, in order to preserve their “beauty’s
rose” for the world. That way, when the parent dies (“as the riper should by time decease”),
the child might continue its beauty (“His tender heir might bear his memory”). In the second
quatrain, the speaker chides the young man he loves for being too self-absorbed to think
of procreation: he is “contracted” to his own “bright eyes,” and feeds his light with the fuel
of his own loveliness. The speaker says that this makes the young man his own unwitting
enemy, for it makes “a famine where abundance lies,” and hoards all the young man’s
beauty for himself. In the third quatrain, he argues that the young man may now be
beautiful—he is “the world’s fresh ornament / And only herald to the gaudy spring”—
but that, in time, his beauty will fade, and he will bury his “content” within his flower’s
own bud (that is, he will not pass his beauty on; it will wither with him). In the couplet,
the speaker asks the young man to “pity the world” and reproduce, or else be a glutton
who, like the grave, eats the beauty he owes to the whole world.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Summary: Sonnet 18
The world known poet, speaker opens the poem with a question addressed to the beloved:
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The next eleven lines are very greatly devoted
to such a comparison.Second line, the speaker stipulates what mainly differentiates
the young man from the summer’s day: he is “more lovely and more temperate.
” Summer’s days tend toward extremes: they are shaken by “rough winds”; in them, the sun
(“the eye of heaven”) often shines “too hot,” or too dim. And summer is fleeting: its date is
too short, and it leads to the withering of autumn, as “every fair from fair sometime declines.”
The final quatrain of the sonnet tells how the beloved differs from the summer in that respect:
his beauty will last forever (“Thy eternal summer shall not fade...”) and never die.
In the couplet, the speaker explains how the beloved’s beauty will accomplish this feat,
and not perish because it is saved in the poem, which will last forever; it will live “as
long as men can breathe or eyes can see.”
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The next eleven lines are very greatly devoted
to such a comparison.Second line, the speaker stipulates what mainly differentiates
the young man from the summer’s day: he is “more lovely and more temperate.
” Summer’s days tend toward extremes: they are shaken by “rough winds”; in them, the sun
(“the eye of heaven”) often shines “too hot,” or too dim. And summer is fleeting: its date is
too short, and it leads to the withering of autumn, as “every fair from fair sometime declines.”
The final quatrain of the sonnet tells how the beloved differs from the summer in that respect:
his beauty will last forever (“Thy eternal summer shall not fade...”) and never die.
In the couplet, the speaker explains how the beloved’s beauty will accomplish this feat,
and not perish because it is saved in the poem, which will last forever; it will live “as
long as men can breathe or eyes can see.”
In this way very droptly poet has expressed his views.
Summary: Sonnet 60
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,
Crooked elipses ’gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
This is one of the sonnet attempts to explain the nature of time as it passes, and as
it acts on human life. In the first quatrain, the speaker says that the minutes replace
one another like waves on the “pebbled shore,” each taking the place of that which
came before it in a regular sequence. In the second quatrain, he tells the story of
a human life in time by comparing it to the sun: at birth (“Nativity”), In this sonnet it
rises over the ocean (“the main of light”), then crawls upward toward noon (the “crown” of
“maturity”), then is suddenly undone by “crooked eclipses”, which fight against and
confound the sun’s glory. In the third quatrain, time is depicted as a ravaging monster,
which halts youthful flourish, digs wrinkles in the brow of beauty, gobbles up nature’s
beauties, and mows down with his scythe everything that stands. In the couplet,
the speaker opposes his verse to the ravages of time: he says that his verse will
stand in times to come, and will continue to praise the “worth” of the beloved despite
the “cruel hand” of time showing true love.
it acts on human life. In the first quatrain, the speaker says that the minutes replace
one another like waves on the “pebbled shore,” each taking the place of that which
came before it in a regular sequence. In the second quatrain, he tells the story of
a human life in time by comparing it to the sun: at birth (“Nativity”), In this sonnet it
rises over the ocean (“the main of light”), then crawls upward toward noon (the “crown” of
“maturity”), then is suddenly undone by “crooked eclipses”, which fight against and
confound the sun’s glory. In the third quatrain, time is depicted as a ravaging monster,
which halts youthful flourish, digs wrinkles in the brow of beauty, gobbles up nature’s
beauties, and mows down with his scythe everything that stands. In the couplet,
the speaker opposes his verse to the ravages of time: he says that his verse will
stand in times to come, and will continue to praise the “worth” of the beloved despite
the “cruel hand” of time showing true love.
From fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty’s rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heir might bear his memory:
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed’st thy light’st flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world’s fresh ornament
And only herald to the gaudy spring,
Within thine own bud buriest thy content
And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding.
Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
To eat the world’s due, by the grave and thee.
Summary: Sonnet 1
The first sonnet takes it as a given that “From fairest creatures we desire increase”—
that is, that we desire beautiful creatures to multiply, in order to preserve their “beauty’s rose”
for the world. That way, when the parent dies (“as the riper should by time decease”),
the child might continue its beauty (“His tender heir might bear his memory”).
In the second quatrain, the speaker chides the young man he loves for being too
self-absorbed to think of procreation: he is “contracted” to his own “bright eyes,”
and feeds his light with the fuel of his own loveliness. The speaker says that this
makes the young man his own unwitting enemy, for it makes “a famine where
abundance lies,” and hoards all the young man’s beauty for himself. In the third
quatrain, he argues that the young man may now be beautiful—he is “the world’s
fresh ornament / And only herald to the gaudy spring”—but that, in time, his beauty
will fade, and he will bury his “content” within his flower’s own bud (that is, he will not
pass his beauty on; it will wither with him). In the couplet, the speaker asks the young
man to “pity the world” and reproduce, or else be a glutton who, like the grave, eats
the beauty he owes to the whole world.
that is, that we desire beautiful creatures to multiply, in order to preserve their “beauty’s rose”
for the world. That way, when the parent dies (“as the riper should by time decease”),
the child might continue its beauty (“His tender heir might bear his memory”).
In the second quatrain, the speaker chides the young man he loves for being too
self-absorbed to think of procreation: he is “contracted” to his own “bright eyes,”
and feeds his light with the fuel of his own loveliness. The speaker says that this
makes the young man his own unwitting enemy, for it makes “a famine where
abundance lies,” and hoards all the young man’s beauty for himself. In the third
quatrain, he argues that the young man may now be beautiful—he is “the world’s
fresh ornament / And only herald to the gaudy spring”—but that, in time, his beauty
will fade, and he will bury his “content” within his flower’s own bud (that is, he will not
pass his beauty on; it will wither with him). In the couplet, the speaker asks the young
man to “pity the world” and reproduce, or else be a glutton who, like the grave, eats
the beauty he owes to the whole world.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Summary: Sonnet 18
The world known poet, speaker opens the poem with a question addressed to the beloved
: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The next eleven lines are very greatly
devoted to such a comparison.Second line, the speaker stipulates what mainly
differentiates the young man from the summer’s day: he is “more lovely and more
temperate.” Summer’s days tend toward extremes: they are shaken by “rough winds”;
in them, the sun (“the eye of heaven”) often shines “too hot,” or too dim.
And summer is fleeting: its date is too short, and it leads to the withering of autumn,
as “every fair from fair sometime declines.” The final quatrain of the sonnet tells how
the beloved differs from the summer in that respect: his beauty will last forever
(“Thy eternal summer shall not fade...”) and never die. In the couplet, the speaker explains
how the beloved’s beauty will accomplish this feat, and not perish because it is
saved in the poem, which will last forever; it will live “as long as men can breathe
or eyes can see.”
: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The next eleven lines are very greatly
devoted to such a comparison.Second line, the speaker stipulates what mainly
differentiates the young man from the summer’s day: he is “more lovely and more
temperate.” Summer’s days tend toward extremes: they are shaken by “rough winds”;
in them, the sun (“the eye of heaven”) often shines “too hot,” or too dim.
And summer is fleeting: its date is too short, and it leads to the withering of autumn,
as “every fair from fair sometime declines.” The final quatrain of the sonnet tells how
the beloved differs from the summer in that respect: his beauty will last forever
(“Thy eternal summer shall not fade...”) and never die. In the couplet, the speaker explains
how the beloved’s beauty will accomplish this feat, and not perish because it is
saved in the poem, which will last forever; it will live “as long as men can breathe
or eyes can see.”
In this way very droptly poet has expressed his views.
Summary: Sonnet 60
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,
Crooked elipses ’gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
This is one of the sonnet attempts to explain the nature of time as it passes,
and as it acts on human life. In the first quatrain, the speaker says that the minutes
replace one another like waves on the “pebbled shore,” each taking the place of that
which came before it in a regular sequence. In the second quatrain, he tells the story
of a human life in time by comparing it to the sun: at birth (“Nativity”), In this sonnet it
rises over the ocean (“the main of light”), then crawls upward toward noon
(the “crown” of “maturity”), then is suddenly undone by “crooked eclipses”,
which fight against and confound the sun’s glory. In the third quatrain,
time is depicted as a ravaging monster, which halts youthful flourish,
digs wrinkles in the brow of beauty, gobbles up nature’s beauties,
and mows down with his scythe everything that stands. In the couplet, the
speaker opposes his verse to the ravages of time: he says that his verse will
stand in times to come, and will continue to praise the “worth” of the beloved
despite the “cruel hand” of time showing true love.
and as it acts on human life. In the first quatrain, the speaker says that the minutes
replace one another like waves on the “pebbled shore,” each taking the place of that
which came before it in a regular sequence. In the second quatrain, he tells the story
of a human life in time by comparing it to the sun: at birth (“Nativity”), In this sonnet it
rises over the ocean (“the main of light”), then crawls upward toward noon
(the “crown” of “maturity”), then is suddenly undone by “crooked eclipses”,
which fight against and confound the sun’s glory. In the third quatrain,
time is depicted as a ravaging monster, which halts youthful flourish,
digs wrinkles in the brow of beauty, gobbles up nature’s beauties,
and mows down with his scythe everything that stands. In the couplet, the
speaker opposes his verse to the ravages of time: he says that his verse will
stand in times to come, and will continue to praise the “worth” of the beloved
despite the “cruel hand” of time showing true love.
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