William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 2 stands as a poignant reflection on the transient nature of youth, the inevitability of aging, and the power of poetry to grant immortality. As part of the Fair Youth sequence in Shakespeare’s Sonnets, Sonnet 2 offers a meditation on the passage of time, highlighting both the beauty and fragility of youth. Through a careful examination of the poem’s imagery, language, and thematic concerns, we can gain a deeper understanding of how Shakespeare explores the relationship between time, beauty, and artistic expression.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 2
When forty winters shall besiege thy brow
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty’s field,
Thy youth’s proud livery, so gazed on now,
Will be a tattered weed, of small worth held.
Then being asked where all thy beauty lies—
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days—
To say within thine own deep-sunken eyes
Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserved thy beauty’s use
If thou couldst answer “This fair child of mine
Shall sum my count and make my old excuse”,
Proving his beauty by succession thine.
This were to be new made when thou art old,
And see thy blood warm when thou feel’st it cold.
The Structure and Tone of Sonnet 2
Sonnet 2 is written in the traditional Shakespearean sonnet form, consisting of 14 lines of iambic pentameter, with a rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG. This structure, marked by three quatrains and a final rhymed couplet, allows Shakespeare to build his argument gradually, offering a progression from the introduction of the theme to its resolution in the closing lines. The tone of the poem is both reflective and urgent, as the speaker implores the young man to consider the fleeting nature of his beauty and youth, while simultaneously proposing the idea that poetry can preserve him against the ravages of time.
Analysis of the Poem
Lines 1–4: The Inevitability of Aging
The poem opens with an acknowledgment of the inevitable decline of physical beauty:
When forty winters shall besiege thy brow,
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty’s field,
Thy youth’s proud livery so gazed on now,
Will be a tattered weed, of small worth held:
Shakespeare begins by invoking the metaphor of “forty winters,” where the seasons of winter symbolize the passage of time. “Winters” are harsh, cold, and destructive, and here they serve as a reminder of the aging process. The phrase “besiege thy brow” suggests an aggressive attack on the young man’s appearance, particularly his face, where the signs of aging will manifest most clearly. The imagery of “dig[ging] deep trenches” emphasizes the destructive power of time, which leaves lasting marks on one’s youth and beauty. The “beauty’s field” refers to the youthful skin and vitality that the young man currently enjoys, which will eventually give way to the ravages of aging.
The phrase “thy youth’s proud livery” refers to the youthful appearance that one wears like a uniform or garment. Shakespeare notes that this “livery” will eventually become “a tattered weed,” a metaphor for something that was once beautiful and prized but has now fallen into decay. The contrast between the proud, pristine beauty of youth and the “tattered weed” underscores the transitory nature of physical appearance.
Lines 5–8: The Fatality of Time
Then being asked, where all thy beauty lies,
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days;
To say, within thine own deep sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame, and thriftless praise.
Shakespeare presents a rhetorical question: when time has ravaged the young man’s appearance, where will his beauty reside? The speaker implies that it will no longer be found in the physical features of his body, but rather in the “deep sunken eyes,” a sign of the inevitable loss of vitality. The phrase “all-eating shame” suggests that the loss of beauty is not only a natural consequence but also a shameful one, for it deprives the person of the admiration and praise that once accompanied their youthful appearance. The “thriftless praise” refers to praise that is worthless and ineffective once the beauty of youth has faded. It highlights the idea that beauty, though highly valued in youth, is ultimately a fleeting asset that cannot be preserved through mere adulation.
Lines 9–12: The Timeless Nature of Poetry
How much more praise deserved thy beauty’s use,
If thou couldst answer ‘This fair child of mine
Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse,’
Proving his beauty by succession thine!
In these lines, the speaker shifts from the inevitability of physical decay to a more hopeful possibility: the preservation of beauty through offspring. By having a child, the young man can perpetuate his beauty, as his child would “sum my count” and carry on his legacy. The phrase “make my old excuse” suggests that the child can serve as a justification for the aging process—an excuse for the passage of time that allows the beauty of the parent to live on in another generation. This idea of “succession” is central to the poem, as Shakespeare implies that the continuity of beauty and youth is not possible through the individual alone but through the creation of future generations.
Lines 13–14: The Power of Poetry to Preserve Beauty
This were to be new made when thou art old,
And see thy blood warm when thou feel’st it cold.
The final couplet brings the argument full circle. While the previous quatrains focus on the inevitability of aging and the possibility of preserving beauty through offspring, Shakespeare concludes by suggesting that poetry, too, has the power to transcend time and preserve beauty. “This were to be new made when thou art old” refers to the idea that the young man, though growing older, will be “new made” through the words of poetry. Shakespeare’s verse promises to immortalize the young man’s beauty, so that even when the man is old and his body has begun to fail, his youthful appearance will live on in the words of the poem.
The phrase “see thy blood warm when thou feel’st it cold” carries a similar sentiment, implying that the young man will remain “warm” in the hearts and minds of future generations, even when he himself has grown cold with age. In this sense, Shakespeare’s poetry offers a kind of immortality, preserving the beauty of the young man for posterity.
Conclusion
Sonnet 2 is a meditation on the passage of time and the fleeting nature of beauty. Through the imagery of aging and decay, Shakespeare emphasizes the inevitability of the loss of physical youth. However, through the suggestion of offspring and, more powerfully, through the immortality offered by poetry, the poem offers a counterpoint to the ravages of time. While the body is subject to the effects of aging, art—and particularly the written word—has the power to immortalize beauty. Shakespeare’s poetic mastery lies in his ability to transform the temporal into the eternal, ensuring that the beauty of the young man will never be fully lost, but rather preserved through verse for all time.
