Shakespeare's Sonnet I: "From fairest creatures we desire increase"

Essay by sweetiedeedeeUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, October 2004

download word file, 5 pages 2.5

Downloaded 24 times

Denise Centkowski

Professor Costigan

English 102 EB (T/Th 5:30PM)

May 2003

SONNET I

From fairest creatures we desire increase,

That thereby beauty's rose might never die,

But as the riper should by time decease,

His tender heir might bear his memory:

But thou contracted to thine own bright eyes,

Feed'st thy light's flame with self-substantial fuel,

Making a famine where abundance lies,

Thy self thy foe, to they sweet self too cruel:

Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament,

And only herald to the gaudy spring,

Within thine own bud buriest they content,

And tender churl mak'st waste in the niggarding:

Pity the world, or else this glutton be,

To eat the world's due, by the grave and thee. (Mabillard).

PARAPHRASE:

SONNET 1 PARAPHRASE

FROM fairest creatures we desire increase, We desire that all created things may grow more plentiful,

That thereby beauty's rose might never die, So that nature's beauty may not die out,

But as the riper should by time decease, But as an old man dies at the hand of time,

His tender heir might bear his memory: He leaves an heir to carry on his memory:

But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes, But you, interested only in your own beauty,

Feed'st thy light'st flame with self-substantial fuel, Feed the radiant light of life with self-regarding fuel,

Making a famine where abundance lies, Making a void of beauty by so obsessing over your own looks,

Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.

With this behavior you are being cruel to yourself.

Thou that art now the world's fresh ornament You are now the newest ornament in the world, young and beautiful

And only herald to the gaudy spring, And the chief messenger of spring,

Within thine own bud buriest thy content But...