A reading of a Shakespeare sonnet
Sonnet 17 is the last of the ‘Procreation Sonnets’, the series of poems with which the cycle of Sonnets begins, which see William Shakespeare trying to persuade the addressee of the Sonnets, the Fair Youth, to sire an heir. What follows is a brief summary and analysis of Sonnet 17 in terms of its language, meaning, and themes.
Who will believe my verse in time to come,
If it were filled with your most high deserts?
Though yet heaven knows it is but as a tomb
Which hides your life, and shows not half your parts.
If I could write the beauty of your eyes,
And in fresh numbers number all your graces,
The age to come would say ‘This poet lies;
Such heavenly touches ne’er touched earthly faces.’