Shakespeare‘s Sonnet 126 is part of the Fair Youth sequence, which centers on the poet’s admiration for a young man of great beauty and promise. This particular sonnet stands apart from the others due to its distinct tone and theme, exploring the relationship between time, beauty, and mortality. The sonnet, written in the traditional Shakespearean form, consists of 14 lines divided into three quatrains and a concluding rhymed couplet. However, unlike many of Shakespeare’s other sonnets, Sonnet 126 shifts the focus from love to the inevitable decay of the young man’s beauty and the relentless march of time.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 126
O thou, my lovely boy, who in thy power
Dost hold Time’s fickle glass, his sickle hour;
Who hast by waning grown, and therein show’st
Thy lover’s withering as thy sweet self grow’st.
If Nature, sovereign mistress over wrack,
As thou goest onwards still will pluck thee back,
She keeps thee to this purpose, that her skill
May Time disgrace, and wretched minutes kill.
Yet fear her, O thou minion of her pleasure!
She may detain, but not still keep, her treasure.
Her audit, though delayed, answered must be,
And her quietus is to render thee.
The Structure and Tone of Sonnet 126
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 126 follows the conventional structure of a Shakespearean sonnet, comprising three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a final couplet. The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, which is typical of Shakespeare’s sonnet form. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, a rhythm pattern often associated with Shakespeare’s works.
The tone of Sonnet 126 is somber and reflective, marked by a deep concern for the passage of time and its impact on youth and beauty. While the speaker acknowledges the youth’s allure and vitality, the poem is overshadowed by a sense of impending loss. Time is personified as a cruel force, which diminishes beauty and promises to eventually take what it has been allowed to create. There is a distinct awareness of mortality, as well as a paradoxical mixture of admiration and trepidation toward nature’s authority.
Analysis of Sonnet 126
Lines 1–4
“O thou, my lovely boy, who in thy power
Dost hold Time’s fickle glass, his sickle hour;
Who hast by waning grown, and therein show’st
Thy lover’s withering as thy sweet self grow’st.”
The opening lines address the young man directly, calling him “my lovely boy,” suggesting an intimate and affectionate relationship between the speaker and the youth. The phrase “in thy power” introduces the paradoxical nature of the youth’s beauty—he is, at once, the subject of Time’s inevitable passage and yet, because of his youth, appears to be immune to its effects. The reference to “Time’s fickle glass” evokes the image of an hourglass, symbolizing time’s transient and unpredictable nature. The word “fickle” suggests that Time is not a constant force, but one that can change in its effect, often appearing both swift and cruel.
The speaker also notes the youth’s growth, not only in terms of physical development but also as a reflection of the passing of time. “By waning grown” is a striking juxtaposition, highlighting the way the youth’s beauty will eventually fade as time moves on. However, as the youth “grow’st,” he simultaneously embodies the gradual decay of the speaker’s own beauty—“thy lover’s withering.” There is an inherent connection between the young man’s maturation and the speaker’s own deterioration, hinting at the tragic interplay between love, time, and decay.
Lines 5–8
“If Nature, sovereign mistress over wrack,
As thou goest onwards still will pluck thee back,
She keeps thee to this purpose, that her skill
May Time disgrace, and wretched minutes kill.”
In the second quatrain, the speaker introduces the figure of Nature, described as a “sovereign mistress”—a commanding and controlling force over all things in life, including time itself. The use of “wrack” suggests that Nature is capable of both destruction and preservation. The phrase “As thou goest onwards still will pluck thee back” refers to the inevitable struggle between the youth’s forward motion in life (growth and development) and the force of Nature that may restrain or reverse this progress. Nature’s influence is both omnipotent and oppressive, as it attempts to “pluck” the youth back, in a sense preventing him from transcending the constraints of mortality.
The line “She keeps thee to this purpose” implies that Nature has a deliberate intention—to showcase her own power by “disgracing” Time and killing the “wretched minutes” of existence. Time, as a concept, is both defied and controlled by Nature’s will, making Time’s cruel passage seem almost inconsequential in comparison to Nature’s overarching authority. This dynamic emphasizes the tension between growth and decay, beauty and age.
Lines 9–12
“Yet fear her, O thou minion of her pleasure!
She may detain, but not still keep, her treasure.
Her audit, though delayed, answered must be,
And her quietus is to render thee.”
The speaker now shifts tone, cautioning the youth to “fear” Nature, who is a “minion of her pleasure.” Here, the youth is referred to as a “minion,” suggesting a subjugated role to Nature’s whims and desires. Despite Nature’s ability to control and “detain” the youth—preserving his beauty for a time—there is an understanding that this preservation is only temporary. The youth cannot escape the eventual reality that Nature, like Time, will demand her due. “Her audit” refers to a reckoning, a final accounting that must be answered, implying that Nature will eventually claim the youth’s life as her “treasure.”
The word “quietus” in the final line refers to death, an inevitable end that Nature will bring to the youth. The imagery of “rendering” the youth suggests the final surrender of life to Nature’s unyielding grip. Thus, the speaker acknowledges that the youth’s beauty, though currently preserved, will ultimately fade, and death, though delayed, will claim him in the end.
Conclusion
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 126 is a meditation on the nature of time, beauty, and mortality. Through the use of direct address, personification, and paradox, the speaker reflects on the transitory nature of youth and the inevitability of decay. While the youth is presented as a figure of great beauty, that beauty is inextricably linked to time’s passage, which the speaker approaches with both admiration and apprehension. Ultimately, Sonnet 126 explores the tension between Nature’s power and the inexorable march of time, with the understanding that all things, including beauty and life, must eventually yield to mortality. The sonnet is a poignant reminder of both the fleeting nature of existence and the timeless impact of Shakespeare’s verse.
