Sonnet 62 is considered one of the “young man” poems that scholars have thematically identified. However, it is quite obvious that there is no one, not even his muse, in this poem. The only subject in this sonnet is the speaker himself.
This poem further supports the claim that this section of the sonnets has been misidentified: they do not address or immortalize any young man; they are all about the speaker, his muse, his talent, and his own self-confidence.
First Quatrain: “Sin of self-love possesseth all mine eye”
In the opening quatrain, the speaker admits that he is guilty of the “[sin] of self-love.” That sin has power over every part of him, all of his senses, his heart, and his very soul, and he feels helpless to alter the situation, because “[i]t is so grounded inward in my heart.” Such a love should be directed only toward the Divine, and the speaker seems to be condemning his self-love as he begins his confession.
Second Quatrain: “Methinks no face so gracious is as mine”
The speaker of this poem might remind the reader of the TV sitcom character, Murphy Brown, who once said, “I am the most interesting person I know.”
In the second quatrain, the speaker admits as much: “Methinks no face so gracious is as mine, / No shape so true, no truth of such account; / And for myself mine own worth do define, / As I all other in all worths surmount.”
He is more obsessed with himself even than Ms Brown was. He is worth more than all other people. He finds his appearance more “gracious.” His own ideas about truth are superior to others. He confesses a total absorption in his own self-interests.
Third Quatrain: “But when my glass shows me myself indeed”
When he looks into his mirror and sees that he looks haggard and aging, it seems that his love for such an appearance defies all logic: “Self so self-loving were iniquity.” Nevertheless, he realizes that that is only his physical self; his true self is his soul, and he recognizes the permanence of the soul’s youth and beauty.
The Couplet: “'Tis thee, myself, that for myself I praise”
Therefore, it is his soul that he praises, not his physical body, which is only an instrument used for “[p]ainting [his] age with beauty of [the soul’s] days.” Thus his sin is commuted to a virtue, because he is merely admitting love for his own soul, which is, in actuality, love for the Divine.
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, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 73, 96, 116, 126, 130, 138
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