Return to Shakespeare's Sonnet 16 |
1.
But: This sonnet continues the thought of the previous sonnet, in which the poet promises to write poetry which will preserve the fair youth's beauty.
6.
unset: unplanted.
7.
your living flowers: This metaphor for children prepares us for the contrast between the living likeness of children and the "painted counterfeit" of a portrait.
8.
liker: i.e., more nearly resembling you. counterfeit: portrait.
9.
lines of life: i.e., living lines of offspring, in contrast to the dead lines drawn by a portrait painter, or written on paper by a poet. that life repair: which renew life.
10.
this time's pencil: i.e., your current reputation. A "pencil" is a paint brush. my pupil pen: i.e., my amateurish poetry.
11.
fair: beauty.
13.
To give away yourself keeps yourself still: i.e., to give away yourself in marriage preserves your true self forever.