Sonnet 16: But Wherefore Do Not You A Mightier Way Poem by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 16: But Wherefore Do Not You A Mightier Way

Rating: 3.3


But wherefore do not you a mightier way
Make war upon this bloody tyrant, Time,
And fortify your self in your decay
With means more blessèd than my barren rhyme?
Now stand you on the top of happy hours,
And many maiden gardens yet unset,
With virtuous wish would bear you living flowers,
Much liker than your painted counterfeit:
So should the lines of life that life repair
Which this, Time's pencil, or my pupil pen
Neither in inward worth nor outward fair
Can make you live your self in eyes of men.
To give away your self keeps your self still,
And you must live drawn by your own sweet skill.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Fabrizio Frosini 06 February 2016

This seems to take its cue from the preceding sonnet, and the two together are in the form of a continuous meditation. Here the poet takes a step backwards from the declaration of promised immortality, for he has second thoughts and his verse (his pupil pen) is found to be inadequate to represent the young man as he really is, or to give a true account of his inner and outer beauty. Therefore the boy is urged once more to give himself away, in marriage, and thus to recreate himself. Lines 9-12 present difficulties of meaning which probably can never be fully resolved. shakespeares-sonnets.com/

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Brian Jani 26 April 2014

Awesome I like this poem, check mine out

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Egal Bohen 19 October 2007

Such words may neither time, nor reasoning distill Writ by an Englishman, called Will

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