Summary References to the young man’s future are signs of the poet’s fear that love cannot defend against time. The youth could die — “When hours have drained his blood” — and so could his beauty — “And all those beauties whereof now he’s king / Are vanishing, or vanished […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 63Summary and Analysis Sonnet 62
Summary The poet thinks of himself as a young man and condemns his own narcissistic vanity. Unfortunately, although he can intellectualize narcissism as an unworthy attribute, nonetheless “It is so grounded inward in my heart.” This youthful image of himself is abruptly shattered in lines 9 through 12, beginning with […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 62Summary and Analysis Sonnet 61
Summary The youth continues to present a variety of phantom images to the poet. Trying to settle on one authentic image, the poet cannot sleep because of the emotional turmoil caused by his obsession with the youth. Shapes and visions of the youth are the disembodied “shadows like to thee” […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 61Summary and Analysis Sonnet 60
Summary Sonnet 60 is acknowledged as one of Shakespeare’s greatest because it deals with the universal concerns of time and its passing. In the sonnet, time is symbolized by concrete images. For example, the opening two lines present a simile in which time is represented by “waves” and “minutes”: “Like […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 60Summary and Analysis Sonnet 59
Summary Sonnet 59 dwells on the paradox that what is new is always expressed in terms of what is already known. The elements of any invention or creative composition must be common knowledge, or old news. The phrase “laboring for invention” indicates not only the poet’s determination to create something […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 59Summary and Analysis Sonnet 58
Summary As in so many other sonnets, the poet’s annoyance with the young man is expressed ambiguously. We hardly notice that he rebukes the youth in the lines “That god forbid that made me first your slave / I should in thought control your times of pleasure.” Surely the suggestion […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 58Summary and Analysis Sonnet 57
Summary In Sonnet 57, the poet argues that he is not so much the young man’s friend as he is his slave. As a slave, he waits on the youth’s pleasure: “But, like a sad slave, stay and think of nought / Save where you are how happy you make […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 57Summary and Analysis Sonnet 56
Summary Much like in Sonnet 52, the poet accepts that separation can be advantageous in making their love that much sweeter when the youth and the poet resume their relationship. The poet asks the abstract love to be renewed so that he can be reunited with the youth. He begs, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 56Summary and Analysis Sonnet 55
Summary Sonnet 55, one of Shakespeare’s most famous verses, asserts the immortality of the poet’s sonnets to withstand the forces of decay over time. The sonnet continues this theme from the previous sonnet, in which the poet likened himself to a distiller of truth. Although the poet’s previous pride in […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 55Summary and Analysis Sonnet 54
Summary The rose image in this sonnet symbolizes immortal truth and devotion, two virtues that the poet associates with the young man. Likening himself to a distiller, the poet, who argues that his verse distills the youth’s beauty, or “truth,” sees poetry as a procreative activity: Poetry alone creates an […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Sonnet 54