| directory |
| home | contact |
|
|||||||||||||||
| search | |||||||||||||||
SONNET 32If thou survive my well-contented day,When that churl Death my bones with dust shall cover, And shalt by fortune once more re-survey These poor rude lines of thy deceased lover, Compare them with the bettering of the time, And though they be outstripp'd by every pen, Reserve them for my love, not for their rhyme, Exceeded by the height of happier men. O, then vouchsafe me but this loving thought: 'Had my friend's Muse grown with this growing age, A dearer birth than this his love had brought, To march in ranks of better equipage: But since he died, and poets better prove, Theirs for their style I'll read, his for his love.' NOTES XXXII. In accordance with the view of Furnivall and Dowden, this Sonnet is probably the Envoy to the series xxvii-xxxii. As the poet has survived many of his former friends (cf. two preceding Sonnets), so Mr. W. H. may survive the poet. And in time to come there may be a general improvement of poetical style. But this improved style will not express a greater intensity of affection. [Please click here for more]. 1. My well-contented day. If this expression implies satisfaction with the world, then there is a marked difference of feeling between this Sonnet and others following, e.g. lxvi. The expression "well-contented" may, however, be understood possibly as implying that the poet would, whenever the summons to depart may come, desire no further prolongation of a life which was not to be coveted. But, in the case of poems like these Sonnets, there need be little difficulty in admitting a variation in the feeling expressed. 2. That churl Death. Cf. Hamlet, Act v. sc. 2, lines 347, 348. This fell sergeant, Death,3. "And if perchance thou shalt again look over." 4. Lover. An expression not unsuitable between men according to the fashion of the time. 7. Reserve them. Still keep them. 8. Happier men. Poets more successful in thought or expression. 11. A dearer birth. A more valuable poetical product. 12. To march, &c. To keep pace with the time in the outward garb and adornment of literary style. 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
|
More to Explore
Introduction to
Shakespeare's Sonnets Shakespearean Sonnet
Style Six Theories About Shakespeare's Sonnets How to Analyze a Shakespearean Sonnet The Rules of Shakespearean Sonnets
Shakespeare's Sonnets: Q & A Are Shakespeare's Sonnets Autobiographical? Petrarch's Influence on Shakespeare Themes in Shakespeare's Sonnets Shakespeare's Greatest Love Poem Shakespeare and the Earl of Southampton The Order of the Sonnets The Date of the Sonnets Who was Mr. W. H.? Are all the Sonnets addressed to two Persons? Who was The Rival Poet? _____
_____ Shakespeare on Jealousy Shakespeare on Lawyers Shakespeare on Lust Shakespeare on Marriage Blank Verse and Diction in Shakespeare's Hamlet Analysis of the Characters in Hamlet Shakespeare on the Seasons Shakespeare on Sleep
|
©1999-2021 Shakespeare Online. All Rights Reserved.