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Sonnets by William Shakespeare

The document contains four sonnets by William Shakespeare, each exploring themes of beauty, love, and the passage of time. Sonnet 15 reflects on the fleeting nature of youth, Sonnet 18 compares a beloved to a summer's day, Sonnet 130 subverts traditional beauty standards, and Sonnet 141 expresses love that transcends physical attraction. Together, these works highlight the complexity of love and the inevitability of decay.

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Atahualpa Daza
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84 views3 pages

Sonnets by William Shakespeare

The document contains four sonnets by William Shakespeare, each exploring themes of beauty, love, and the passage of time. Sonnet 15 reflects on the fleeting nature of youth, Sonnet 18 compares a beloved to a summer's day, Sonnet 130 subverts traditional beauty standards, and Sonnet 141 expresses love that transcends physical attraction. Together, these works highlight the complexity of love and the inevitability of decay.

Uploaded by

Atahualpa Daza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Sonnets by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 15
When I consider everything that grows
Holds in perfection but a little moment,
That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows
4
Whereon the stars in secret influence comment;
When I perceive that men as plants increase,
Cheerèd and checked even by the selfsame sky,
Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,
8
And wear their brave state out of memory;
Then the conceit of this inconstant stay
Sets you most rich in youth before my sight,
Where wasteful Time debateth with Decay
12
To change your day of youth to sullied night;
And, all in war with Time for love of you,
As he takes from you, I engraft you new.
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
4
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
8
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall Death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
12
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Sonnet 130

My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;


Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
4
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
8
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound.
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
12
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

Sonnet 141

In faith, I do not love thee with mine eyes,


For they in thee a thousand errors note;
But ’tis my heart that loves what they despise,
4
Who in despite of view is pleased to dote.
Nor are mine ears with thy tongue’s tune delighted,
Nor tender feeling to base touches prone,
Nor taste, nor smell, desire to be invited
8
To any sensual feast with thee alone.
But my five wits nor my five senses can
Dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee,
Who leaves unswayed the likeness of a man,
12
Thy proud heart’s slave and vassal wretch to be.
Only my plague thus far I count my gain,
That she that makes me sin awards me pain.

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