| directory |
| home | contact |
|
|||||||||||||||
| search | |||||||||||||||
SONNET 4Unthrifty loveliness, why dost thou spendUpon thyself thy beauty's legacy? Nature's bequest gives nothing but doth lend, And being frank, she lends to those are free. Then, beauteous niggard, why dost thou abuse The bounteous largess given thee to give? Profitless usurer, why dost thou use So great a sum of sums, yet canst not live? For having traffic with thyself alone, Thou of thyself thy sweet self dost deceive. Then how, when Nature calls thee to be gone, What acceptable audit canst thou leave? Thy unused beauty must be tomb'd with thee, Which, used, lives th' executor to be. NOTES The theme presented in the previous sonnets continues, but this time the poet states his case using a mercantile conceit. It is simply bad business for the young friend to spend his "beauty's legacy" on himself. Nature's account must be settled properly, and this can only be accomplished through procreation. Unthrifty (1): wasteful or unprofitable. beauty's legacy (2): the beauty passed down to you (that should extend to your children). Your beauty is but a loan from nature: you must not hoard it. frank (4): generous. free (4): liberal/generous. niggard (5): miser. usurer (7): moneylender. yet canst not live? (8): i.e. beyond a short time. traffic with thyself alone (9): A moneylender would not turn a profit if he lent only to himself. acceptable audit (12): i.e. how will you settle your account with Nature if you remain childless? th' executor to be (14): the child he would bear. How to cite this article:______ Even More...  Shakespeare in Old English?
Shakespeare's Influence on Other Writers An Elizabethan Christmas Clothing in Elizabethan England Queen Elizabeth: Shakespeare's Patron King James I of England: Shakespeare's Patron The Earl of Southampton: Shakespeare's Patron Going to a Play in Elizabethan London Ben Jonson and the Decline of the Drama Publishing in Elizabethan England Shakespeare's Audience Religion in Shakespeare's England Alchemy and Astrology in Shakespeare's Day Entertainment in Elizabethan England London's First Public Playhouse Shakespeare Hits the Big Time
|
More to Explore
Introduction to
Shakespeare's Sonnets Shakespearean Sonnet
Style How to Analyze a Shakespearean Sonnet The Rules of Shakespearean Sonnets
The Contents of the Sonnets in Brief Shakespeare's Sonnets: Q & A Theories Regarding the Sonnets Are Shakespeare's Sonnets Autobiographical? Petrarch's Influence on Shakespeare Theme Organization in the Sonnets Shakespeare's Greatest Love Poem Shakespeare and the Earl of Southampton The Order of the Sonnets The Date of the Sonnets Who was Mr. W. H.? Are all the Sonnets addressed to two Persons? Who was The Rival Poet? Shakespeare's Greatest Metaphors Shakespeare's Metaphors and Similes _____
_____ Shakespeare's Treatment of Love in the Plays Shakespeare's Dramatic Use of Songs Shakespeare Quotations on Love Shakespeare Wedding Readings Analysis of the Characters in Hamlet Shakespeare on the Seasons Shakespeare on Sleep
|
Granted, Shakespeare gave us more memorable quotes than any other writer, but often he gets credit for the clever quips of other greats, like Ben Franklin and John Milton. ©1999-2021 Shakespeare Online. All Rights Reserved.