In Shakespeare Sonnet 53, the speaker explores the nature of the Divine, as he has examined the nature of his own soul and its relationship to his poetic ability.
First Quatrain: “What is your substance, whereof are you made”
In the opening quatrain of sonnet 53, the speaker begins with a question, “What is your substance, whereof are you made, / That millions of strange shadows on you tend?” He is addressing the Divine Reality, asking what composes Its being? The “millions of strange shadows” represent the myriad creatures whose existence flows from the body of the Divine.
The speaker is examining the nature of God, Whom he understands to be the repository of his talent. In many sonnets, he has examined the nature of his own soul and its relationship to his poetic talent, and he always finds that the two are united through God.
The speaker says, “Since every one hath, every one, one shade, / And you but one, can every shadow lend.” Although God is one, His creatures are many. God is one “substance” or “being” that exists, and His creatures are His shadows. It seems to be a conundrum that One can have many shadows.
Second Quatrain: “Describe Adonis, and the counterfeit”
Because the speaker is an artist, a poet, he naturally refers to the art of mythology and the other arts in his examination: “Describe Adonis, and the counterfeit / Is poorly imitated after you.” The most beautiful of creations is but a “counterfeit” or imitation when compared to the Ultimate Reality, Which created them.
The Divine is “painted” through art on “Helen’s cheek.” And God is dressed out in new attire after the Greek fashion. The speaker is offering examples of the best art that hints at the beauty and wholeness of the Almighty Artist. All artists including painters partake of the creative principle extended from the Divine.
Third Quatrain: “Speak of the spring, and foison of the year”
Other examples of the beauty of the Divine are found in nature such as the season of spring with its many effusions of loveliness and pleasures to the senses, and the bounty, which later appears, streams from the same divine source: “Speak of the spring and foison of the year, / The one doth shadow of your beauty show.”
The speaker avers that the Divine exists in everything: “The other as your bounty doth appear; / And you in every blessed shape we know.” Omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience all belong to the Ultimate Reality.
The Couplet: “In all external grace you have some part”
Even though the Divine is evident “[in] all external grace,” nothing in any singular part of Its existence can be that Ultimate Reality.
The “constant heart” of the Divine beats in all, yet not one particle of the Divine can make It understandable through the senses. Awareness of that Entity comes only through the soul, which is a spark of that Divine Flame.
Other Shakespeare articles: Who is Shakespeare?
Sonnet Commentaries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 73, 96, 116, 126, 130, 138
