Sonnet 2: When forty winters shall besiege thy brow. And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field, Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now, Will be a tattered weed, of small worth held.

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Also, what does Shakespeare's Sonnet 2 mean?

Shakespeare's Sonnet 2 is the second procreation sonnet. It urges the young man to have a child and thereby protect himself from reproach by preserving his beauty against Time's destruction.

One may also ask, when I do count the clock that tells the time? Sonnet 12: When I do count the clock that tells the time Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

Also know, what is the theme of Sonnet 2?

Sonnet 2: Facts Key Themes: Old age, procreation, a child providing evidence of one's worth, Winter, obsession with the fair youth's beauty. Style: Written in iambic pentameter and follows the traditional sonnet form.

Were an all eating shame and Thriftless praise?

Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise. Proving his beauty by succession thine. This were to be new made when thou art old, When forty years have gone by and carved deep wrinkles in your forehead, your youthful beauty, which everyone likes to look at now, will be worth little.

Related Question Answers

What is a sonnet in Shakespeare?

A sonnet is a 14-line poem that rhymes in a particular pattern. In Shakespeare's sonnets, the rhyme pattern is abab cdcd efef gg, with the final couplet used to summarize the previous 12 lines or present a surprise ending. The rhythmic pattern of the sonnets is the iambic pentameter.

What does the poet claim to be most important in Sonnet 2?

The poet claims to be the most important thing in Sonnet 2 is Beauty and about benefits of having children.

What does When forty winters shall besiege thy brow mean?

The Shakespeare sonnet that begins 'When forty winters shall besiege thy brow' is sonnet 2 of 154, and the second in a series of 'Procreation Sonnets'. It's a poem about ageing, and about the benefits of having children – continuing the argument begun in the previous sonnet.

Shall I compare thee to a summer day?

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st: So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

What was Shakespeare's first sonnet?

Sonnet 1

What does Shakespeare's Sonnet 3 mean?

Die single and thine image dies with thee. A brief summary of Sonnet 3 first. Shakespeare tells the Fair Youth to look in the mirror and tell his own reflection that he should marry and have a child, so as to 'form another' copy of his own face (through his child inheriting its parent's looks).

What does Shakespeare's Sonnet 5 mean?

Sonnet 5 compares nature's four seasons with the stages of the young man's life. Although the seasons are cyclical, his life is linear, and hours become tyrants that oppress him because he cannot escape time's grasp.

How many plays and sonnets did Shakespeare write?

37 plays

What are the lines from the quatrain in Sonnet 2?

Sonnet #2 is a typical Shakespearean sonnet, 14 lines long, made up of three quatrains and a final couplet with the 'turn' or conclusion. This sonnet has a rhyme scheme of ababcdcdefefgg with all but one of the rhymes being full: lines 2 and 4 - field/held which is a slant or near rhyme.

What is the name of the rhyme device found at the end of a Shakespearean sonnet?

In the three quatrains the poet establishes a theme or problem and then resolves it in the final two lines, called the couplet. The rhyme scheme of the quatrains is abab cdcd efef. The couplet has the rhyme scheme gg.

What are sable curls?

And sable curls, all silvered o'er with white; sable = black; a term from heraldry. all silvered o'er with white = having turned silvery due to the whiteness of age. The description is of the black or dark hair of a youth turning white as he becomes an old man.

When I do count the clock that tells the time iambic pentameter?

William Shakespeare Sonnet 12 When I do count the clock that tells the time. Sonnets are fourteen-line lyric poems, traditionally written in iambic pentameter - that is, in lines ten syllables long, with accents falling on every second syllable, as in: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?".

Shall I sum my count and make an old excuse?

Shall sum my count and make my old excuse", Proving his beauty by succession thine. This were to be new made when thou art old, And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

What does proud livery mean?

In general, "proud livery" means fancy clothes that are beautiful and showy. It has a more specific meaning, too. The servants of a nobleman during the Renaissance would wear livery, which was a uniform that told the world who they served. So livery are clothes, but clothes that tell a story.