While we are nearing our Shakespeare unit, I thought we could analyze another of his poems. This one is a sonnet and has a definite and very specific meter and rhyme scheme. Please focus on the content of the poem since the structure is so firm for these types of poems.
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.
Remember to respond once to the poem itself and once to a classmate. Each comment should be four sentences each. You may want to use a dictionary to look up some of the words and know that some of the words are flowery and poetic and you may need to read thinking of metaphors! Reading poems out loud always helps!
Happy Reading!
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Reading this poem, I feel like it is telling about the future and what is to come. It is saying like when fourty winters pass and deep blue trenches fill and things like that, then this will happen. I had to read it a second time. And when I did it totally made me think of the future. And that its talking about what will happen in the future.
ReplyDeleteTo me, I think this poem is talking about aging as the years go by in a person's life. In the second line that says 'and dig deep trenches in beauty's field, I feel that it is talking about wrinkles. Next, it is saying that after a while a person's youthfulness that was so admired would just become a whisper in the wind with no importance, a tattered weed. When Shakespeare asks where beauty lies and they say nothing but in thy deep sunken eyes were shame, I think the person is ashamed for how they placed so much value on their own empty praises of beauty. 'This fair child shall sum my count, and make my old excuse proving his beauty in succession thine' I think this is trying to say that a son or daughter will follow in the parents footsteps, but the parent is warmed by the fact that he will be succeeded and that is the beauty of their child not their outward appearance. In the last two lines, this translates in my opinion that when the parent is old and he recalls that he has an heir and left behind something of worth behind on earth (the child), he is peaceful once more with that knowledge that gives him strength. In the beginning, Shakespeare is using the metaphor of a field as he describes the aging of life.
ReplyDeleteI think me and Leigha have the same consept only backwards. Leigha is describing the past from what she read in the peom, and I described it as looking in the future. I dont disagree with Leigha, I think that we both have similar ways of looking at this peom but in an oppisite way. I like how Leigha really got in to the peom and described everything in words that she was thinking. I myself, have trouble doing that sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI do not understand this poem at all. The wrighter made this a very hard poem to undrestand but I think it is about nature. I noticed that the wrighter talked about feilds and whether. I really dislike this poem because its very hard to understand.
ReplyDeleteGreg Trykowski
THis poem was interesting. It uses very good imagery and that helped make it easier to read. I think it's saying that when we are young we do not know how good we have it. We can't see that we need to appreciate life because we don't think about how quickly it goes by. In the last line it seems lke he is telling this to a person so that they can understand and enjoy life to the fullest.
ReplyDeleteJustin Noote
I agree with what Leigha said about this poem being about age. I think we had the same idea for what this poem was about. I didn't think about the second line being about wrinkles but reading it again that makes sense. It makes sense to me now because I think when he refers to beauties field he means a young face but trenches are the wrinkles.
ReplyDeleteJustin Noote
To me this poem is talking about looking back onto your life. It says "When forty winters shall besiege thy brow, And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field", The "forty winter shall besiege thy brow" is talking about the age of someone. When it says "and dig trenches in thy beauty's field", he is talking about all the things you have done threw out your life. When he says "To say within thine own deep-sunken eyes", he is talking about your appearance now that you are older and looking back onto your life.
ReplyDeleteI think this poem was about in being young and how it's taken for granted. Shakespear says "thy youth's proud livery so gazed on now". I thought he was saying being young is just looked over as nothing special as if we take being young for granted. Then he says will be a tattered weed of small worth held". I think he was trying to say we are young and proud but later on in life will be old (withered) and have not a lot of worth to the world. So basically I thought this poem was about aging and growing old in life.
ReplyDeleteKara Williams
I agree with Leigha. I think we both have this pretty spot on, but of course there are many possibilities on what this poem could mean. There are many things that Leigha mentioned that I didn't even catch. Such as, "dig deep trenches in beauty's fields." I didn't even think that, that line could mean wrinkles dug deep into a young beautiful face. As i started to read Leigha's full comment I started to understand more about the poem than what I had originally put about aging.
ReplyDeleteKara Williams
I think this poem is about a man who has grown old. His "beauty" and good looks have gone, and he is being asked, "What is your beauty now?" He can say, "Look at me, I have done well and worked hard." However, this is a prideful answer. He instead is proud of his son who will take care of him and his family. I think that Shakespeare is touching on the importance of family in this poem.
ReplyDeleteEmily of 5th
I think that Leigha was right about this poem. Shakespeare definately (most def :D ) uses good imagery. I especially liked the part about the field. The way this poem clearly states what Leigha said (in my opinion), yet the poem uses imagery to get its point across. I think these poems are the kind that should be used more in schools because it was not so hard to read; this poem might make students have a more respectful, shall we say, view of Shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteEmily of 5th
This is a very good poem. It's imagery is amazing. I could actuallly see the woman looking back at the past at her " lusty days". This basically means that she is remenescing on her past when she was young and beautiful. now the woman is old and misses those days.
ReplyDeleteTerah Gamble
This poem was a rather hard one. I had to read it several times to get what it was saying. I think that this poem is talking about how nature will look in the years to come and how it will not be so much of a lovely sight. He must have also been talking about how a person will age with nature. I thought that this poem was trying to get me to think that nature looked better in the past.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Simpson
I believe this poem is talking about how people can change as they get older. She wonders where her youth has gone. She say she has past her lineage to her children. She will always have the memories of her glory days.
ReplyDelete@ Emily of 5th
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! I did not think of it that way, but he (or she) does seem content with what he/she has done, but is reminiscing in the glory days. The love of family is a very interesting way to interperet this sonnet. I agree and thank you for giving me a new perspective about this poem.
I think that this poem has to do with aging because of the last line- "This were to be new made when thou art old, And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold." Also I think that this is poem is looking back to all the memories of your life when you are old. The imagery shows many things that could mean remembering memories when you are younger such as;"Thy Youth's proud livery","Where all the treasure in thy lusty days". "Where all the treasure in they lusty days", found that "lusty" meant; Strong, Hearty, healthy, forceful. All of the meanings usually points to when you are younger. After all I think that the meaning of this poem has to be looking back over your life when you were younger.
ReplyDelete-Addison Helms
Leigha, I think that you are right from what I see in this specific poem. When you are talking about years that go by from somone, it is easy to see that from the imagery given in this poem to. Shakespeare's metaphores are really showing how you you age within the field I believe as you said. Also the last thing is that it could mean aging from starting out younger but also from my point of view it seems as if it is being told from somone that is elderly.
ReplyDelete-Addison Helms
I agree with Nat. I think that this poem is talking about the future and how it will look in forty years. This poem also made me think about the changes in nature in forty years. It made me think of how nature looked better in the past than it does now.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Simpson
I think this is a very good poem. I didn't understand a couple of the words at first, but once i re-read the poem i had a better understanding. I thought the poem was quite interesting. Overall a very good poem.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I really liked the poem. I loved the use of imagery. Personally, I think that the poem is about someone growing old, and how younger people take their youth for granted. I particularly liked the part about "digging deep trenches in beauty's field".
ReplyDeleteWell once again it took me round about 15 or 16 times to read this and to understand this. In opinion I think Shakespeare is kind of complaining about something again. What is complaining about? This time I say he's complaining about being old and missing his youth. But at the same time I think it says something about having kids and being happy in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was a very good poem. It had good imagery, and it had a lot of thought put into this poem. While i was reading this poem, i could picture in my head, exactly what was going on. To me this poem is about this specific person aging as the years past. This poem was a great piece of work by Shakespeare, and i am excited to read more of his work.
ReplyDeleteI loved Leigha's post. There were many things in it that I hadn't really thought about. One of the things I hadn't thought about was how the person being referred to might be "ashamed for how they placed so much value on their own empty praises of beauty". Leigha's post gave me a lot to think about, overall.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Justin Noote, because like I was saying it uses very good imagery. It is a very thoughtful laid out poem. I do think that it is about somebody telling a person about someone's life, but i am not sure that they are telling them this so that they can make there life fuller. I really like everything that you said. I agree with you 99%. Good Job on your comment!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Greg. This poem is very hard to understand. Even after re-reading it I still don't get it. I'm right there with you Greg.
ReplyDelete--Robby Fernandez
I thought this poem was pretty good because I could understand most of it from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteHow the 40 winters meant 40 years and how our beauty that people see, changes as we get older. As the years go by people see a different type of beauty maybe our knowledge.
Age should not be compared to a tattered weed, and thrown away. I think he is writing about getting old.
Michael Holland
A comment to Addison
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you wrote. I think the poem is about aging and how our beauty goes away as we get older. I actually liked this poem and it was easy to read. Your idea that the use of words are mostly about young people it right.
Michael Holland
Michael Holland
I think this poem is about a man that is now elderly because when it says "When forty winters will beseighe thy brow" I imagine forty years passing by. As the poet goes on
ReplyDeleteto say "thy youth's young livery is gazing on now" I think the old man is looking back into the past at his childhood and thinking about all the great things and hardships he's faced over the years and after pondering these thoughts he turns to his son and tells him that he needs to take over his [father's] job and lastly after telling his son this he dies of old age. I'm not entirely sure if this is right but after reading this a few times this is what came to mind. I think it would be useful to know what a sonnet is.
~Katie Cumbia~
This poem is about aging. It is about the beauty of youth. And when the time comes for one to grow old they ask where the beauty has gone. With age beauty fades. When a child is born this is where the beauty if found. The newborn child is youthfull, beautiful, without flaw. This is where an aged being's beauty resides, in the child.
ReplyDeleteSarah fooshang
@ leigha stall
ReplyDeleteleigha, I love how you discribed the trenches as wrinlkes of the face. As my own weakness i try to find more of the logic in the poem rather than the imagery, so i find it very helpful and interesting when people discribe the images that appear in their minds i think your opinion was thoughtfully spoken. But when you say that they feel ashamed i really dont believe so. Maybe the beauty they see in their children is not something to look down on them for following their footsteps, but possibly admiring the child overall i think you did a great job and i totally agree with you
sarah fooshang
While i was reading this poem, I had to take a while to get the jist of it. When I read the poem again, to me the poem was saying that when people get older, they supposedly lose their beauty. I like the poem and I like the literary uses in it too, but if my thesis of this poem is correct, I would have to disagree with the poet. Real beauty lies within yourself as a person.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Michael Holland. People do see our physical beauty fade away as we get older. I also think Shakespare was writing about getting older. There are different types of beauty as Holland said, I just think we all need to see it.
ReplyDeleteSarah F.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I love how you said ''With age beauty fades" This is the only part I disagree with. I feel that old age can be beautiful. Maybe Shakespeare meant that she was old and misses her youth I didn't perceive it as she was ugly as she is old. The statement " The newborn child is youthfull, beautiful, without flaw" that you made touched . I was thinking ' wow that was deep'. It helped me to understand the poem even more.
by: Terah Gamble
I could not understand it all that well. The sonnet was discribing a face that has been through many years. I like this poem because it has a sort of deepness to it. I think Shakespheare is a good poet because he makes them with strong and deep words. Chris Meindl
ReplyDeleteThis poem is crazy and opens up so many thoughts. It makes me think that the person in the poem is looking out upon an open field that is covered in a white soft blanket of snow. And is hoping that the blanket is never disturbed for eternity. It also makes me think that the person will go to any cost to keep the field preserved to its full natural beauty.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Lawton
Wow, Chris Meindl I never saw it as a face. Now, that I revisit the poem and give it a rethink I could totally see the face. As the face being an older male or female in its late seventies or early eighties. The face having wrinkles and white hair.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Lawton
At first this song was pretty hard to understand in my opinion. After reading it three more times and really letting it soak in, however, i understand what it meant. It was talking about a face that had been through so much (many years). It used a lot of deep words and I really liked it overall. It was a great poem!
ReplyDelete-James Cannon
(James Cannon responding to Joseph Lawton)
ReplyDeleteI saw it as a face the second time reading it. Then I saw several faces as I read it a third and fourth time. I generally saw older people too, like you. I totally agree with you.
-James Cannon
I agree with you that Shakespeare is talking about the importance of family. I think he realizes when he is old that he has no beauty left to be prideful about. I thought this poem had a very profound meaning and I thought the use of his imagery was very talented. I also agree that Shakespeare should be used in schools because this guy knows what he is talking about, and he makes a person ponder its meaning. I think Shakespeare was also trying to get the point across that physical beauty with time fades, so a person shouldn’t build themselves around the exterior. It is important to have accomplished something in life more than to have nothing but beauty.
ReplyDeleteAt first it was hard to understand. After i read it a couple of times i finally started to understand it. I think its talking about something or someone getting old. Or i think it might be talking about something young becoming old.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the first line I thought that "forty winters" meant forty years. Also, when he says "dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field" I thought that he meant maybe lines or wrinkles in a persons face. The third line confused me when I first read it, and I still don't fully understand it. I think this sonnet was about getting older.
ReplyDelete-Andrew Hadaway
Im responding to james cannons comment. I agree with him in a way. I also started to understand it after a couple of times reading it. It did use some words i didn't understand like besiege. I think it was a metaphor when it says "dig deep trenches in the beauties field.
ReplyDeleteJames Cannon, I agree with you when you said you saw a face, I saw the same thing. I also agree with seeing older faces. Chris Meindl, I agree with you saying that it was hard to understand. Joseph Lawton, I agree that it opens up many thoughts.
ReplyDelete-Andrew Hadaway
i think that tis poem is about growing old. i think that the trenches refer ti wrinkles. i think that when he says the lusty days will be gne he is saying that no one will have any lust towards you. i think that this entire is meant to be taken as a metaphor.
ReplyDeleteI thought that this was an exceptionally beautiful poem. One of my deepest fears is time going by way too fast. I think that Shakespeare was saying that he's not looking forward to being old but looking forward to the succession he may obtain in the future. He's saying that sometimes beauty lies within what you've accomplished as a person and a part of this world. I could see pictures in my head, especially of winter; he was good at painting a landscape under a blanket of snow...
ReplyDeletei agree with michael. the poem does obviuosly talk about getting older. 40 winters pass in forty 40 years. the references he make obviously refer to physical appearance. i agree that old people shouldnt be refered as a tattered weed to be thrown away
ReplyDelete@michael holland
Sarah Fooshang,
ReplyDeleteI completely understand what you're saying when you refer to the old person's beauty being in something they've brought into this world (the child). Not only does the child bare some resemblance of the parent, but he/she brings forth new beauty of their own. They do this by facial features and even their own personalities. I personally believe that each person carries a lot of beauty not just on the outside of themselves but the inside as well.
I really did not enjoy this, it was hard for me to understand. After a while i understood, i think it's talking about beauty, enjoy it. When you get older their is no going back, When you get to your old ages, you wont look as beautiful as before. The old man misses what he did when he was young, its not the same after you are old.
ReplyDeleteEm Ruiz
I think this poem is about someone starting otu young and slowly aging. It seems to describe the person being useless when he is old which is really sad. However, I think when it says,"If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse', Proving his beauty by succession thine." it is talking about the older person passing his beauty to a younger person so the young person can be even more beutiful than the old person once was. I think the poem is showing how our parents, teachers, and other adults share their knowledge with us so we can be as great as they once were.
ReplyDeleteROBERT THERRELL
Emily of 5th
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about this poem being about the importance of families. I think that this poem kind of reflects how any adults can pass down their knowledge to us. It is pretty cool being on the robotics team because there are a lot of retired engeneers that are always teaching us how to do different things. I also like how a lot of the teachers here at Charter work really hard to teach us what we need to know.
ROBERT THERRELL
This took me many times of having to reread the poem to understand it. I think it is talking about how old age ruins your looks that you had in your youth. I got the idea he was talking age when he mentioned youth. Then with that idea in mind I reread the first line and it mentioned fourty winters so I figured that meant fourty years. Then the third and fourth lines mentioned made me think of old age. This poem was tricky to understand but I liked it anyway.
ReplyDeleteZack Black
>chris meindl to james cannon> I did not realize when you said it was about an old person until I read your coment. Thank you for the nice comment. I think the face was a man or even Shakespheare. I agree with your comment to.
ReplyDeleteChris Meindl
The poem is about beauty. It's starts off talking about how once you gder where your beauty had gone to. Then it says that the beauty you once had is hiding under your old age. You could have been raising a child to give birth to your beauty agian, and that you could be proud of your child.
ReplyDelete-James Gardner
I agree with James Cannon on the matter of the sonnet. It is hard to understand until you read more into it and understand what the words mean. Like when Shakespeare talked about the forty winters he meant a long time. It was a great poem.
ReplyDelete-James Gardner
To me, this poem is about looking on your life while it grows and many seasons change. I see a face going from a baby to an old person. I also feel like when he's talking about the blankets of snow its just reminds me of all the moments they go through. I really liked this poem. It makes me think.
ReplyDeleteMiranda Symons
I completely agree with Sarah Fooshang. I really agree with the fact that its about aging. But to me the part about the youth's beauty going away that you said was not what I would say. To me it was about how the outer beauty goes away but the inner beauty gets more beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMiranda Symons
I had to read this poem really carefully to catch all the imagery in it. But I think he gives good examples of it. I noticed he talked about "beauty" a lot. To me, he is saying that even when you're old, you still have some beauty.
ReplyDeleteSarah Fooshang, I agree with you when you say it is about aging. But I also think he is saying old people still have beauty too, along with the youth. Like when he says "Where all the treasure of thy lusty days, To say within thine own deep-sunken eyes." I think he is saying that when an old person is asked where their beauty is, they reply "Within thine own deep-sunken eyes."
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting poem. It took me awhile to figure it out. I think it talks about aging, and life. When your older and have kids, however you live your life, your kids will live how they were raised. Mainly, live your life proud, and let your beauty show.
ReplyDelete-Julia
When I frist read this poem, I thought it was very confusing and uniqe; but then I read it out loud and understood it a little better. When I started to read other peoples comments it gave me an even better idea of the poem. I personally think this poem was about a mas simpily telling a young child about life. I liked this pome because it made me read and think between the lines. I hope to see more poems like this.
ReplyDeleteVictoria Hayes
James Cannon, I really agree with you. I like how you said you saw a face and it had been through alot over many years. I also agree with you about the words, and how they are deep. I think you did you did good! :D
ReplyDelete-Julia
I agree 100% with Justin Noote. When I fist read this poem, I had know idea what he was trying to say. After reading the poem over again out loud, it started to come together like a puzzle. To me this poem is explaining how precious life is and that you shouold take every chance it gives you. This poem took I long time for me to understand, but i finally got it. Thanks a lot Justin...
ReplyDeleteVictoria Hayes
I think that Shakespeare is talking about someone, a woman. I think that it might be his wife. he says "This fair child of mine". He had a kid with her. he also says "This were to be new made when thou art old" which would be referring to his significantly older wife.
ReplyDeleteI think that this poem is talking about how things come and go and people change in personality and appearance. I like the rhyme scheme, ababcdcd... it was very intertaining to read, so I copied and pasted it into Microsoft word so I can read it again and again. I hope to see more sonnets like it because it is an entertaining read, because I like the language and wording of five hundred years ago. Again this is an exetremely interesting and deep poem.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Rader
I partly agree with what Kristina said. He does talk about beauty. He's talking about his wife. I agree with that part.
ReplyDeleteTo me the basic gist of this poem was just, when I become old and start to forget things, I'll always remeber who I was above everything else. I love how he used nature to talk about his memory and past and future, and just time in General. My favorite part was where he said, "And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field" I think it is calling the feild his memory and the trenches to me represented the impediment to his memory because he is aging. I also think that it is saying that even though he does get old and forget, he can always look forward to his future.
ReplyDelete-Ashlie Renae Gibson
Salvador Juca:
ReplyDeleteI see what you are saying about it being about his wife or kids, but I disagree. As I stated in my first post I think it is saying that things come and go and people change in personality and appearance. I can see were you are coming from though, I can understand why you would say that. So please take into account my opinion about what it is about.
Brandon Rader
ok so even though after looking up the words i still don't completely understand it but i'll give it a shot. i think it says that i'll get old but i'll still have something to look forward to. I also belive that he is saying that he will always remember who he was and what he did. this is what i read.
ReplyDeleteJoshua Puckett
David S
ReplyDeleteTo Dominique Johnson
I paritally agree with Dominique because he knows what the poem is about, but it's also saying that how everything can be changed by nature and that how we can also be changed by ourselves and again by nature. But I think that you made one great point of what was the poem saying.
David S
I think that the poem is talking about the seasons. When it said "When forty winters shall besiege thy brow
ReplyDeleteAnd dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,
It made me think of how seasons change. I thought ok forty winters are really cold and harsh. "And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field, that must be talking about when it snows and the plants die. Im not going to lie I got lost at the end of the poem, but other then that the "flowery" words are genius!
sara damas
I agree with Ashlie Renae Gibson. I reread the poem and acctually saw it from her point of view. I too thought that he was talking about his past, present and future. He said "To say within thine own deep-sunken eyes
ReplyDeleteWere an all-eating shame and thriftless praise" I thought he was talking about some of the regrets of his life. Things he did when he was younger and now looking back on it he regrets. I think the part that supports my claim is "This were to be new made when thou art old, And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold." I felt that this quote showed that he was regretful.
sara damas
I agree with Sara Damas. I couldn't ever really figure out what the ending was talking about. When looking at the poem in the perspective of season the ending kinda makes sense. I think the last line is talking about how even if it was cold out side, the blood is still warm. Also that the fields may be dead, the person speaking is still alive and warm after the cold winter. I strongly agree with everything you said, and you explanation to the poem helped me think of what the ending meant.
ReplyDeleteAt first I though the poem was hard, but then I saw some imagery in it. In between where it says "And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field" and "Where all the treasure of thy lusty days," it made me think about how old we get and how everything, including beauty changes through out life. But I think that Shakespeare wants us to show out the beauty of life through the "forty winter". This was great sonnet that Shaksepaere wrote.
ReplyDeleteDavid S.
To Leigha Stall
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said because I though you were using great and big statements and thoughts which builds up to what was the poem really saying. But I think that we have the same views of this sonnet and it's meanings, except that I still didn't get what the ending was saying, it just threw me off.
David S.
I like how Shakespeare used imagery, "Dig deep trenches", to apply to how some one looks. I find that very interesting. I'm certain that he is talking about how people get wrinkles in there face. I think he is saying that when you get old and lose your looks everything is passed down to your children. All your beauty has been transferred to the next generation. You like being around your children because they remind you of yourself when you were once beautiful, too.
ReplyDelete~Anthony Gelardi~
I think this poem is telling us how our focus is off. He is saying that we focus on materialistic things and beauty that will all whither away. When he says all-eating shame I think he is saying that we will do anything to get praise or attention. Even if that is sacrificing ourselves. He is also asking how much is our beauty worth if we have no character and we just focus on looking and seeming a certain way other than being ourselves.
ReplyDelete@ Ashlie!! I agree with you. After reading your post I get a different view of the poem. He is saying that you may make yourself look this way or seem this way, but when I get older I won't remember any of that. I agree about the future thing also. I think he was really focusing on the future more than anything, though.
ReplyDeleteI had to read the poem three times for me to really understand it. I think the poem is saying that you will always have something waiting for you in the future. The words really prevented me from getting the whole point. Beside the confusion, shakespeare was good with this poem.
ReplyDeleteHenry Hill
@Emily of 5th
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your first comment about the importance of a family. That is is what the poem was saying to me too sort of. At first I didn't think about Shakespeare trying to explain the importance of a family until I read your comment. Although I don't really understand Shakespeare very well sometimes.
~Katie Cumbia
I believe this sonnet is about love. Love and age. I believe what he is trying to say is I have love for you because your beautiful but even when you are old and less beautiful, I will still love you the same. Also at the end of the poem, I think he means that he may seem mean and hateful but he's love is the same.
ReplyDeleteI agree with dominique. This poem does seem that its talking about something getting old. I also agree that this took a couple of times to read it to understand it. I also agree that he may be saying something about someone growing into an old age.
ReplyDeleteHenry Hill
I read the poem a couple of times and what i got from it was that as the seasons go by we get older. Once we get older we don't remember the past even if we are looking for those memories. I think that we all have beauty when we get older, just in our own ways. Although I really didn't understand it that much, it was a great poem.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sara Damas. When I re-read the poem, it gave me thoughts of seasons. The words that you quoted makes this poem sound like nature. The way he describes things really puts the images of trees and flowers. Great opinion Sara
ReplyDeleteI think that he was trying to say that in forty years the youths livery will be worthless. That they wwould be looking back trying to find where everything went wrong. I also think that he is saying the human race is a greedy people that leech off of others. I think this because in line 8, it say that "we are an all-eating shame and thriftless praise".
ReplyDelete~Jesse Estry
@Sal
ReplyDelete-I didn't think about that he may be talking about his wife. To me, I don't see it. I believe that he is talking about love for everyone. Not just about his wife.
To James Gardner
ReplyDeleteI like that idea that this poem could be about beauty and how you could have a child to pass it on. This idea could be supported because at the time Shakespear wrote this, he was raising his own children. I also like the idea that he was proud of his child because he included his children in many of his sonnets and plays. He even made Hamlet after his son Hamnet.
~jesse estry
I didn't really like this poem because it is really hard to understand. Shakespeare used a lot of word that are not easy to understand. Shakespeare said "And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field". I havent got the slightest clue as to what he is trying to compare or what he is trying to say. I might like this sonnet if i actually knew what Shakespeare is reffering to.
ReplyDelete-Jacob Jones
To me, this poem is about a woman who used to be beautiful. As she aged, she got less beautiful, but the narrator still sees her for the way she is. Now that she's old. He is saying how even though she has wrinkles, he still thinks she is the most beautiful person in the world. It's like he's saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
ReplyDeleteI really don't undertand this poem. I do not understand this old english. I will still give it a try though, I think he is talking about love or beauty. He wasn't just talking about one person, but instead everyones love or beauty.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with Greg and that it is really hard to understand. However i do not dislike this sonnet just because i am not sure as to what it means. I dont think that you should say you don't like it unless you know the true meaning behind something. I also agree that this sonnet has something to do with the weather but i am not sure.
ReplyDeleteJacob Jones Commenting on Greg's Comment
@Julie
ReplyDeleteNow that I read that, I can see how this poem may not be about an actual person. But I don't really see where seasons come in. But that's just how I see it. I think that when he is talking about nature, he is just comparing.
I thought this poem was hard to understand. I had to read it a few times, and then as I read some of the comments it started to come to me and make sense. I liked the language that he used. Although it was hard to understand, I thought it was a good poem.
ReplyDelete--Kaitlyn Henderson
I agree with James Gardner. I like the idea of having children to pass it on. I did not know he was raising children at this time. That would give him a reason to write this sonnet.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Emily of 5th. I also think that Shakespeare is talking about growing old.After reading her comment the poem made more sense to me. Thanks Emily!
ReplyDeleteI am commenting on Anthony Gelardi's comment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything he is saying. I also liked the imagery he used and the language in the poem. With that in the poem, it kept me interested. I also think that the poem was saying what its like when you get older, some of it I thought was hard to understand.
--Kaitlyn Henderson
I think that this poem is referring to Shakespeare's children. I think that he is trying to say that he hasn't seen them in a long time and that he misses them. Also that William is thinking about them everyday especially in the winter time. I feel bad for shakespeare because he is thinking about the great family that he left.
ReplyDeleteAlex Agudelo!!
I think that this sonet is talking about the years to come. It talks about the brow and wrinkles i think it means getting old. it talks about tattered weed and it most def means a tattered body. I think they are all metaphors.
ReplyDeletei agree with jacob. but i think that the trenches mean the wrinkles on someone when they turn a certen age. But the 40 years i do agree with. they are talking about an age.
ReplyDelete@sal
ReplyDeleteI see what your talking about, because i think that he also misses his children. He might be missing his whole family. All the years he has been away from his family. I agree with you salvador.
ALex Agudelo!!
in jesses blog he said things i didnt even know when i wrote mine. after reading his it makes more sense and i never but hamlet and hamnet together. it makes you think that if he hadnt had a son would he of ever of wrote some of his best work like hamlet. Or would we be studing someone else.
ReplyDeleteI really like this sonnet. The way i see it, is that it's a romantic one to someone he's attracted to. I also think he's trying to say, that forty years from then, the person he was talking about will still be beautiful. It was a little hard to understand, but it held my attention and was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteChelsey A.
I agree with "Victoria" I felt the same way about the poem. I knew it was something about it I mean look who wrote it. I read Dominique's post and it made me look at it another way. This poem will hopefully become more understandable as I keep reading it.
ReplyDelete-Davarius Hampton
I think that the poem is talking about aging. 40 winters pass in 40 years, so I assume that he's saying that our beauty will fade in 40 years. The middle is people asking "Where has your beauty gone?".The end of it didn't make much sense.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what James said. After reading his comment, and then reading the poem again, the end actually made sense. I never thought that it would mean that you could raise a child in your old age to restore your beauty. I think that is what the end means.
ReplyDeleteI still really like Shakespeare even though the first time I read that poem it's like I was reading Japanese. I kinda understand it now and it might have just been his time but I loved how elegantly he worded it. Instead of saying when you grow old your eyes will get baggy and wrinkly he said things like "To say within thine own deep-sunken eyes..." and it might have also been the time but he used beautiful metaphors like when he was talking about "And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field" he could have just said and your beauty starts to fade. I think that's why I liked him so much. He goes above and beyond to get the full effects out of every word he uses.
ReplyDelete$Emerald Garrett$
To Leigh
ReplyDeleteI agree with how you see the meaning. But I also want to add that he was probably thinking about his lost son Hamnet when he was writing this poem. About how proud other parents are about how they passed on their good qualities to their children and he didn't really have a chance to see that in his children because he was living in London and Hamnet died. But yes the poem, to me, is talking about passing your beauty on to your children. It's like living proof that once before the age and the loss of energy that you were once a lively young person. Your children carry on your legacy.
I thnk this is talking about a persons past. At least in the beginning. I had a harder time understanding the ending but the beginning was very clear to me. How it talked about forty winters besieging thy brow I knew it was talking about how much forty years could do to you. And then the second line that says"And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field" just helped support my theory.
ReplyDelete@Leah
ReplyDeleteI think it is cool how both of us came up with the same thing. We both interpreted the first two lines the same way but you got farther into the poem. You figured out the rest of the poem that I could not figure out. I'm glad you posted such a lengthy comment to help me understand this poem completely.
Wow this poem had some crazy way of talking. At first I thought it was talking about people being outside in the snow and then it just changed to something else. Then it seems to get into the mind of a person and what they have done in their life. How someone changes into beauty and feels himself.Daniel Taverna
ReplyDeleteI think that Shakespeare is very interesting. It took me a while to fully understand what the poem was talking about. In my mind I pictured him thinking about his good and bad memories. Overall the poem was good, not like his other the poems.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with juca also. How the poem does talk about beauty. That a person comes to know what they have done. What a person is feeling from what they have become.Daniel Taverna
ReplyDeleteI'm commenting on Salvador Juca's blog. I strongly disagree with him. I don't think that Shakespeare was talking about his gorgeous wife or his three beautiful little girls. I also don't think that he is referring to his wife's age.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading this poem i thought that it was talking about aging. When the poem says 40 winters, it shows that the person the sonnet refers to is at least 40. I think that the sonnet was also talking about how much praise we should receive for what we have done in our lives. How much praise we should receive for what we have done for others.
ReplyDeleteI agree with sarah damas when she say that the seasons are going by. I didn't think about the words being harsh, but i see what you are saying. I felt like the poem was slightly confusing at the end as well. I think it might be talking about how you should not teach your children to make your same excuses and trying to tell them to be a better person.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was really intersting to me.I think is talking about getting older.I think he his trying to say that when you are younger people really look at you as beautiful,but when you start aging it's like your not as beautiful as you used to be.It's saying that you have to cherish all that you have while you are young.
ReplyDeleteI agree with leigha about this sonnet.I agree that he is talking about aging.When he talks about "and dig deep trenches in beauty's field" i think he is talking about somebody growing old and getting wrinkles,just like leigha said.When he says "This fair child shall sum my count, and make my old excuse proving his beauty in succession thine" leigha thought it was talking about how a son or daughter will follow in the parents footsteps,but I think it is talking about the kid will be more succesful and try to show the parents they are briliant.
ReplyDeleteJames I think your right this poem is about beuaty. I dont think that its about passing how childeren can pass it on though. It was very helpfull to me reading your blog. I think I un=dre stand the poem a little better now.
ReplyDeleteGreg Trykowski
I really enjoyed this poem. The way Shakespeare painted a picture in my head as I read the poem was really cool and that is what poems should do. I think that he was talking about how we may be beautiful now, but in time, we will all not be beautiful. He probably thought about how we should be beautiful personality-wise because one day, that is the only way we will be beautiful.
ReplyDelete~Hannah McKeel
Jasmine- I agree with you. I think with my comment along with yours, we are kind of saying the same thing. You say that as you get older, you get less beautiful, but you are still loved because your personality. I also think that maybe he meant that as you get older, the only way to remain loved is to keep yout personality beautiful.
ReplyDelete~Hannah McKeel
Well since I was curious, I actually read the poem again. Now that I've read for the seventeeth time I personally agree with Mr. Kyle Soden. I too did indeed like the use of imagery, it was pretty interseting how after reading his comment i went back and read the poem, and I could kind of see like the poem play out in my head like a movie or something. I also found what Anthony said interesting.
ReplyDeleteI can tell this poem is about kids. I thought about it for a while and still couldn't figure out what it was saying. The use of the words threw me off a little and thats what got me confused. I need to read other comment to figure this one out.
ReplyDeleteHannah- After reading other peoples comments and understanding the poem i agree with your comment. The poem does paint a picture in your head as you read. I saw how it was saying that over time you get less beautiful than you were as you were young. I agree that if you keep your personality beautiful that is what will keep you loved.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Leigha. I agree with Leigha completely and I feel that everyone got the same overall idea from the poem. I think that some other people had good ideas to but I don’t think they really got it. That is all I have to say.
ReplyDelete~~Anthony Gelardi~~
The First Sonnet,
ReplyDeleteThis poem is written in a cryptic way, but the message is interesting. It talks about your beauty withering away, your young life gone, and your deeds being pointless. It talks about having little to nothing to show for you time on the earth...save for your child. Your child can be your excuse for living; your mark on the world. Your child is new and strong, and his 'blood is warm,' while you are old and decaying.
--Peter Scott
(Thank you for taking this late)
This sonnet is about how when we are old we won’t be able to measure ourselves by our looks because we won’t have any. If we have measured ourselves by physical appearance when we are old we won’t have anything to measure ourselves by. So when were young we should seek wisdom character and intellect something we can measure ourselves by something when the physical isn’t a factor. I’m sure many people wish they would have sought out character rather than the approval of others.
ReplyDeleteI understand Ms. Mathis if you don’t grade this because it’s late but I am doing it anyways.
Im commenting on lieghas post
ReplyDeleteLiegha your good at iterpreting metaphor i agree with you completely on your thoughts.I agree with your thoughts on how when were old well look back and hopefully we wont be dissapointed but i have a feeling some of us will be. WEll be ashamed we wasted a lot of time investing in the outward appearnce. We should all seek things not measured by man but by god.