Sonnet 100: Where Art Thou, Muse, That Thou Forget'st So Long Poem by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 100: Where Art Thou, Muse, That Thou Forget'st So Long

Rating: 3.4


Where art thou, Muse, that thou forget'st so long
To 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, resty 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 despisèd everywhere.
Give my love fame faster than Time wastes life;
So thou prevent'st his scythe and crooked knife.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Ralph Mason 13 July 2012

I started reading Shakespeare and I've found this to be the best so far. I don't know if it can get any better but I'll keep reading...

3 1 Reply
Egal Bohen 22 July 2006

Read and understand -thank you Will Egal Bohen...

2 1 Reply
Dr Antony Theodore 11 February 2019

the great schakespeare. How many of his works we studied ardently. tony

0 0 Reply
Zuzu Mutairi 25 January 2019

Nice poem, Age is taking its toll both on the lover and the beloved, and neither can withstand its ultimate overthrow.

0 0 Reply
* Sunprincess * 26 April 2016

.....if any be a satire to decay, wonderfully penned ★

0 0 Reply
Fabrizio Frosini 08 November 2015

'' In this and the following three sonnets the poet elaborately excuses his silence and the hiatus in the production of his sonnets in praise of the youth, a hiatus which perhaps corresponds to the period of absence commemorated in the previous three sonnets. Whether this silence was a real or imaginary one it is impossible to know. The defence against the charge of failure is a conventional defence, in that it uses the standard figure of the Muse as the source of poetic inspiration. But here the Muse is blamed for having dried up. She has spent her energies in worthless pursuits and is castigated for being devoted to trivialities, being forgetful and slothful. In the following sonnets she is accused of being a truant, neglectful, incapable, and beggarly. According to GBE, 'Many critics feel that Sonnets 100-103 lack any sense of commitment or emotional involvement'. (p.208) . Nevertheless there is a sense of easy grace and relaxed detachment, perhaps born of necessity, which gives a pleasant charm to this group. After all the heart searching and agonies of former times the poet now has to justify his own failures. The chiding of the Muse is in itself an amusing farce, a clownish way of shifting blame away from himself. The Muse is berated instead and the poet, by his blasphemy of an ancient goddess, risks the wrath of divine punishment with studied carelessness. The theme of lines 13-14, that verse might confer immortality on the object of devotion, has already been explored in full in 55,63,65 and others, and here it seems to be tacked on as a wistful afterthought. Age is taking its toll both on the lover and the beloved, and neither can withstand its ultimate overthrow. '' [in shakespeares-sonnets.com]

33 3 Reply
Brian Jani 26 April 2014

Awesome I like this poem, check mine out

2 7 Reply
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