Thursday, February 26, 2009

Muffin Explicates Shakespeare's Sonnet 2

. . . with his innocent snorgly little fists and furrowed baby brow. (Also the part about the aging parent, since lugging him about in that baby sling hunched mama much in the manner of a gouty Falstaff, albeit far more virtuous and definitely less drunk.)

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.
Then being asked, where all thy beauty lies,
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days,
To say within thine own deep sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame, and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserved thy beauty's use,
If thou couldst answer, "This fair child of mine
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.

2 comments:

Beth said...

So I'm just thinking that the sonnet explication is a little off . . . but I can't quite put my finger on how . . .

Mary Jo said...

That is really quite a lovely thought, Janet. Thanks for sharing. :)