Thou wilt restore, to be my comfort still:īut thou wilt not, nor he will not be free, So, now I have confess’d that he is thine, They draw but what they see, know not the heart. Yet eyes this cunning want to grace their art
Mine eyes have drawn thy shape, and thine for meĪre windows to my breast, where-through the sunĭelights to peep, to gaze therein on thee Now see what good turns eyes for eyes have done: That hath his windows glazed with thine eyes. Which in my bosom’s shop is hanging still, To find where your true image pictured lies
Mine eye hath play’d the painter and hath stell’dįor through the painter must you see his skill, That then I scorn to change my state with kings. Haply I think on thee, and then my state,įrom sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven’s gate įor thy sweet love remember’d such wealth brings Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,įeatur’d like him, like him with friends possess’d,ĭesiring this man’s art and that man’s scope, When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,Īnd trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
Yet seem’d it winter still, and, you away,Īs with your shadow I with these did play.Ĭlick to get the FREE 5-prompt mini series They were but sweet, but figures of delight,ĭrawn after you, you pattern of all those. Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew
Yet nor the lays of birds nor the sweet smell That heavy Saturn laugh’d and leap’d with him. Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing, When proud-pied April dress’d in all his trim Therefore I lie with her and she with me,Īnd in our faults by lies we flatter’d be.įrom you have I been absent in the spring, O, love’s best habit is in seeming trust,Īnd age in love loves not to have years told: On both sides thus is simple truth suppress’d.īut wherefore says she not she is unjust? Simply I credit her false speaking tongue: Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young,Īlthough she knows my days are past the best, Unlearned in the world’s false subtleties. That she might think me some untutor’d youth, I do believe her, though I know she lies, When my love swears that she is made of truth Had eyes to wonder, but lack tongues to praise. They had not skill enough your worth to sing:įor we, which now behold these present days,
I see their antique pen would have express’dĪnd, for they look’d but with divining eyes, Of hand, of foot, of lip, of eye, of brow, Then, in the blazon of sweet beauty’s best, In praise of ladies dead, and lovely knights, I see descriptions of the fairest wights, The 10 Best Shakespeare Sonnets-Table of Contents Do you have a favorite that is not on the list? Share it with us in the comments. Of those 154 surviving poems, we’ve collected 10 of the best Shakespeare sonnets for you to enjoy. The poem is written in iambic pentameter, meaning each line has 10 syllables with the stress falling on the second syllable of each pair. The traditional Shakespearean Sonnet form has 14 lines comprised of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and one rhyming couplet (two-line stanza). And that’s 154 sonnets that are so good that a lot of modern day sonneteers try to imitate them. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets that have survived into perpetuity. More likely, there’ll be a pile of discarded crumpled papers under your desk before you ever write one you’ll actually let a person read. If you’ve ever tried to write a sonnet, you know that, more often than not, it doesn’t come out right the first time. Personally, I think he wrote several hundred more. Among other things I was a little skeptical about in lit classes, this number is a big one. Word on the street is that William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets.