First Quatrain: “I never saw that you did painting need”
Once again, addressing his poetry, the speaker/poet avers that he has never engaged in mere cosmetic dressing for his poems. He has always believed that his subjects of love, beauty, and truth provide the profundity that his creations need. The poet owes a debt to his audience, and this speaker vows that he will always pay that debt.
Unlike many superficial poets, this poet/speaker will not condescend to use poetic devices such as metaphor, simile, and image for mere window dressing. His work will always reflect his dedication to heartfelt art produced by a genuinely workable method.
Second Quatrain: “And therefore have I slept in your report”
The “modern” way always brings with it some shallow writers who depend on disingenuousness and cosmetic touches to make their poetry appear original, even as it merely shows pretension and conformity. Such a situation can be seen in poets who become critics in order to make a case for their own poetry.
These artists behave like adolescents, who must change their style out of an ignorant rebellion and an immature attempt to belong to something they do not completely understand. Instead of studying the nature of love, beauty, spirituality, and truth, they are content to dabble in “worth[less]” pursuits.
Third Quatrain: “This silence for my sin you did impute”
The poem may seem to impart “silence for my sin,” but for those speakers, who limit their intentions to base instincts, this speaker understands that they “impair not beauty being mute.” His own poems will sing with “life,” while the superficial will “bring a tomb.”
The speaker’s passion for life will live in his works because he has struggled to maintain his integrity, while paying homage to his own considerable talents. The repetition of his subjects will not be taken as “dumb” but will “be most my glory.”
The Couplet: “There lives more life in one of your fair eyes”
The poet/speaker declares that his own poetry, because of the profound history, philosophy, and spirituality he has struggled to place in it, will contain “more life” than that of any two less honest poets. The speaker takes such honor for himself only in that he has been able to assist his own poems into creation. His humility can be achieved by the very talent that could, in a less realized poet, give rise to a presumptuous pride.
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, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 96, 116, 126, 130, 138, 146
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