Sonnet 106: When in the
chronicle of wasted time
BY W ILLI AM SHA KE SP EA RE
When in the chronicle of wasted time
I see descriptions of the fairest wights,
And beauty making beautiful old rhyme
In praise of ladies dead and lovely knights,
Then, in the blazon of sweet beauty's best,
Of hand, of foot, of lip, of eye, of brow,
I see their antique pen would have express'd
Even such a beauty as you master now.
So all their praises are but prophecies
Of this our time, all you prefiguring;
And, for they look'd but with divining eyes,
They had not skill enough your worth to sing:
For we, which now behold these present days,
Have eyes to wonder, but lack tongues to praise.
Sonnet 106 is one of Shakespeares most famous poems that
addresses the fair youth. In particular the young unknown
man that it is addressed to. It’s fitting that the poem
mentions both ‘ladies’ and ‘knights’ providing masculine as
well as feminine qualities addressing the androgynous
beauty being delicate as well as manly.
The first stanza talks about the chronicles of the past. The
poet mentions that they read old texts ‘when in the
chronicle of wasted time’, and encounters descriptions ‘of
the fairest wights’. The use of the word ‘Wight’ is an old
term referring to people. It sets the scene of the sonnet
and serves as an introduction.
The second stanza takes the beauty of the past and
compares it to the unknown man. The poet describes the
chronicle of wasted time
BY W ILLI AM SHA KE SP EA RE
When in the chronicle of wasted time
I see descriptions of the fairest wights,
And beauty making beautiful old rhyme
In praise of ladies dead and lovely knights,
Then, in the blazon of sweet beauty's best,
Of hand, of foot, of lip, of eye, of brow,
I see their antique pen would have express'd
Even such a beauty as you master now.
So all their praises are but prophecies
Of this our time, all you prefiguring;
And, for they look'd but with divining eyes,
They had not skill enough your worth to sing:
For we, which now behold these present days,
Have eyes to wonder, but lack tongues to praise.
Sonnet 106 is one of Shakespeares most famous poems that
addresses the fair youth. In particular the young unknown
man that it is addressed to. It’s fitting that the poem
mentions both ‘ladies’ and ‘knights’ providing masculine as
well as feminine qualities addressing the androgynous
beauty being delicate as well as manly.
The first stanza talks about the chronicles of the past. The
poet mentions that they read old texts ‘when in the
chronicle of wasted time’, and encounters descriptions ‘of
the fairest wights’. The use of the word ‘Wight’ is an old
term referring to people. It sets the scene of the sonnet
and serves as an introduction.
The second stanza takes the beauty of the past and
compares it to the unknown man. The poet describes the
