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SONNET 100Where art thou, Muse, that thou forget'st so longTo speak of that which gives thee all thy might? Spend'st thou thy fury on some worthless song, Darkening thy power to lend base subjects light? Return, forgetful Muse, and straight redeem In gentle numbers time so idly spent; Sing to the ear that doth thy lays esteem And gives thy pen both skill and argument. Rise, restive Muse, my love's sweet face survey, If Time have any wrinkle graven there; If any, be a satire to decay, And make Time's spoils despised every where. Give my love fame faster than Time wastes life; So thou prevent'st his scythe and crooked knife. NOTES C. There was probably an interval of some months between this and the last Sonnet; and very likely there had been no personal interview between the poet and his friend for a still longer period (lines 9, 10). The poet now calls upon his Muse to resume her strains, and, in defiance of Time, to celebrate the fame of his friend. 2. Gives thee all thy might. Cf. lxxviii. 13. "Skill and argument" (line 8), that is both subject and skill to describe and celebrate. 3. Thy fury. Cf. Midsummer Night's Dream, Act v. sc. i, lines 12, 13, "The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,4. Darkening thy power. Through the unworthiness of the subjects. There may be, as has been thought, allusion to dramas on which Shakespeare had been at work. But of course, if this is so, the language here used is that of compliment. 9. Restive. Q. "resty." "Restive" may be taken here as equivalent to "uneasy," "in aimless motion," "wandering." Cf. "truant Muse," in the next Sonnet. Shakespeare's Muse had not been at rest, lines 3, 4. 11. Be a satire to decay. Cause decay to be disregarded and contemned, by conferring eternal fame. 14. Anticipating his agency, and rendering it abortive. Time is here equipped with both scythe and sickle. How to cite this article:______ Even More...  Stratford School Days: What Did Shakespeare Read? Games in Shakespeare's England [A-L] Games in Shakespeare's England [M-Z] An Elizabethan Christmas Clothing in Elizabethan England Queen Elizabeth: Shakespeare's Patron King James I of England: Shakespeare's Patron The Earl of Southampton: Shakespeare's Patron Going to a Play in Elizabethan London Ben Jonson and the Decline of the Drama Publishing in Elizabethan England Shakespeare's Audience Religion in Shakespeare's England Alchemy and Astrology in Shakespeare's Day Entertainment in Elizabethan England London's First Public Playhouse Shakespeare Hits the Big Time
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