Sonnet 17
Encyclopedia
Shakespeare's
Sonnet XVII, the last of his procreation sonnets
, questions his own descriptions of the young man, believing that future generations will believe them to be exaggerations if he does not make a copy of himself (a child).
The sonnet ends with a typical notion that should the young man have a child, he shall live both in the child and in the poet's rhyme.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
Sonnet XVII, the last of his procreation sonnets
Procreation sonnets
The term procreation sonnets is a name given to Shakespearean sonnets numbers I to XVII .They are referred to as the procreation sonnets because they all argue that the young man to whom they are addressed should marry and father children, hence procreate...
, questions his own descriptions of the young man, believing that future generations will believe them to be exaggerations if he does not make a copy of himself (a child).
Synopsis
Shakespeare insists that his comparisons, even though they are quite strong, are not exaggerations. Shakespeare even goes as far as to say that his verse is a "tomb" that hides half of his beauty. Shakespeare argues that the descriptions in fact are not strong enough, and they do not do justice to the man's beauty. ("If I could write the beauty of your eyes,/").The sonnet ends with a typical notion that should the young man have a child, he shall live both in the child and in the poet's rhyme.
Original text
The original text from 1609 Quarto for this sonnet is:- VVho will believe my verse in time to come
- If it were filled with your most high deserts?
- Though yet heaven knows it is but as a tomb
- Which hides your life , and ſhewes not half your parts:
- If I could write the beauty of your eyes,
- And in fresh numbers number all your graces,
- The age to come would ſay this Poet lies,
- Such heavenly touches near touch earthly faces.
- So should my papers (yellowed with their age)
- Be ſcorn'd,like old men of less truth then tongue,
- And your true rights be termed a Poets rage,
- And stretched miter of an Antique ſong.
- But were some child of yours alive that time,
- You should live twice in it,and in my rime.
Interpretations
- Richard AttenboroughRichard AttenboroughRichard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
, for the 2002 compilation albumCompilation albumA compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, When Love SpeaksWhen Love SpeaksWhen Love Speaks is a compilation album that features interpretations of William Shakespeare's sonnets and excerpts from his plays by famous actors and musicians, released under EMI Classics in April 2002.-Track listing:...
(EMI ClassicsEMI ClassicsEMI Classics is a record label of EMI, formed in 1990 in order to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogs for internationally distributed classical music releases....
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