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  • Sonnet 106

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    Jannet Cyndrella
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    This sonnet by William Shakespeare describes the beauty of his beloved that surpasses descriptions of beauty from antiquity. The poet finds his beloved possesses a beauty that was foreshadowed by the "fairest wights" and "lovely knights" from old poems and literature, though those ancient people lacked the skill to fully capture her worth. While modern observers may wonder at her beauty, even they cannot praise it with the skill of the ancients. So the poet's beloved is a living embodiment of beauty that was once only imagined.

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    This sonnet by William Shakespeare describes the beauty of his beloved that surpasses descriptions of beauty from antiquity. The poet finds his beloved possesses a beauty that was foreshadowed by the "fairest wights" and "lovely knights" from old poems and literature, though those ancient people lacked the skill to fully capture her worth. While modern observers may wonder at her beauty, even they cannot praise it with the skill of the ancients. So the poet's beloved is a living embodiment of beauty that was once only imagined.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    268 views2 pages

    Sonnet 106

    Uploaded by

    Jannet Cyndrella
    This sonnet by William Shakespeare describes the beauty of his beloved that surpasses descriptions of beauty from antiquity. The poet finds his beloved possesses a beauty that was foreshadowed by the "fairest wights" and "lovely knights" from old poems and literature, though those ancient people lacked the skill to fully capture her worth. While modern observers may wonder at her beauty, even they cannot praise it with the skill of the ancients. So the poet's beloved is a living embodiment of beauty that was once only imagined.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Sonnet 106

    This sonnet composed by William Shakespeare is about the beauty of his


    beloved. In this poem, the poet says that during the old times, people used to
    write about beauty. That beauty did not exist in those days and thus what they
    wrote was rather foreshadowing of poet’s beloved.

    In The first four lines of the poem, According to the poet, he sees the
    descriptions (mentions) of fairest (most beautiful) wights (people) when he
    reads the chronicle (literature) of wasted time (history). In those chronicles,
    the poet finds beautiful old rhyme (poems) about the beauty (beautiful people)
    such as beautiful ladies and lovely knights who are dead now. The poet says
    that he finds the beauty in his beloved which the antique (old) pen had
    expressed in the poems.

    In the next four lines, According to the poet, the hand, foot, lip, eye and brow
    of his beloved blazons (i.e. shows) the same beauty which the ancient people
    had described. In other words, the ancient people used to praise body parts of
    beautiful people and the poet’s beloved has mastered that beauty.

    In the next four lines, the poet says that what the people of old time praised
    were mere prophecies and foreshadowing of poet’s beloved. The beauty of
    poet’s beloved was prefigured (described already) by ancient people.

    In the next line, the poet says that those people (of old times) looked with
    divine eyes i.e. they had skills to predict the poet’s beloved However they did
    not have enough skills to sing (praise) her worth (beauty)

    In the last two lines, the poet says that those who live in the present time do
    have eyes which may wonder and get amazed by seeing the beauty of poet’s
    beloved. However they do not have tongues enough to praise it (as the ancient
    had).So, in the final couplet, an ironical situation is described. Here the people
    can see the beauty which ancient imagined. However they cannot praise it as
    ancients did.
    On Buying and Selling

    The merchant asks the poet to speak to them about buying and selling. The
    prophet says that the earth yields her fruit to satisfy us and he recommends
    the merchant to know how to fill his hands. He says that it is an exchanging of
    gifts from the earth and one can be satisfied by understanding it. He also says if
    the exchanging is not with love and kindly justice’, it will only lead to poverty
    and other problems like greed and hunger.

    Then, he glorifies the hard labour of the sea farers, farmers, weavers, potters
    and the collectors of spices who invoke the master spirit of the earth and
    sanctify the scales and the reckoning value against value. Let not the barren-
    handed takes part in your transactions and use their words and equal for your
    labour and if they want to be a part of your transactions ask them to “come to
    the field, or go with our brother to the son and the cast your net; For the land
    and the see shall be bountiful to you even as to us

    He says there may be singer, dancers and flute players who would come there
    to sell their gifts, buy their gifts too for they too are gatherers of fruit and
    frankincense and song and dance is food for your soul. When you leave the
    market place, look that there no one is empty handed all fill their hands with
    the produce the earth. Finally, Gibran says that the master spirit of the earth
    shall not sleep peacefully without satisfying your needs of the least of the
    beings of the earth.

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