A collection of some of William Shakespeare's sonnets with their modern English translations from Sparknotes.
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Sonnet XVIIII (19)
Devouring Time, blunt thou the lions paws, And make the earth devour her own sweet brood; Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tigers jaws, And burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood; Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleetst, And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed time, To the wide world and all her fading sweets; But I forbid thee one most heinous crime: O carve not with thy hours my loves fair brow, Nor draw no lines there with thine ntique pen. Him in thy course untainted do allow For beautys pattern to succeeding men. Yet do thy worst, old Time; despite thy wrong, My love shall in my verse ever live young. Devouring Time, go ahead and blunt the lions paws. Make the earth swallow up her own creatures. Pluck the sharp teeth out of the fierce tigers jaws, And burn the long-lived phoenix in its own blood. Make happy and sad times as you fly by, And do whatever you want, swift-footed Time, To the wide world and all its vanishing delights. But I forbid you to commit one heinous crime. Oh, dont carve wrinkles into my loves beautiful forehead, And dont draw lines there with your old pen. Let him pass through time untainted, To serve as the model of beauty for men to come. But do your worst, old Time. Despite your wrongs, My love will stay young forever in my poetry.
Sonnet LV (55) Not marble nor the gilded monuments Of princes shall outlive this pow'rful rhyme, But you shall shine more bright in these contnts Than unswept stone, besmeared with sluttish time. When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword, nor wars quick fire, shall burn The living record of your memory. 'Gainst death and all oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room Even in the eyes of all posterity Neither marble nor the gold-plated monuments Of princes will outlive this powerful poetry. You will shine more brightly in these poems Than those stones that crumble to dust, blackened by time. When devastating war overturns statues, With its battles uprooting buildings, Neither the god of war nor his quick-burning fires shall destroy This record of you. Despite death and ignorant enmity, You shall continue on. All those generations to come, will devote space to praising you.
That wear this world out to the ending doom. So till the judgment that yourself arise, You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.
Down to the weary end of time. So until Judgment Day, when you are raised up, You will live in this poetry, and in the eyes of lovers who read this.
Sonnet LXI (61)
Is it thy will thy image should keep open My heavy eyelids to the weary night? Dost thou desire my slumbers should be broken, While shadows like to thee do mock my sight? Is it thy spirit that thou sendst from thee So far from home into my deeds to pry, To find out shames and idle hours in me, The scope and tenor of thy jealousy? O no; thy love, though much, is not so great. It is my love that keeps mine eye awake, Mine own true love that doth my rest defeat, To play the watchman ever for thy sake. For thee watch I whilst thou dost wake elsewhre, From me far off, with others all too near. Was it your intention that I should stay awake all night thinking about you? Do you want my sleep to be interrupted While Im tantalized by mental images of you? Are you sending your spirit Far from its home to pry into my dealings, To find out the shameful things Ive been up to in idle hours? Are you jealous? Oh, no: Though you love me a great deal, you dont love me that much. Its my love for you thats keeping me awake. My own true love keeps me from sleeping staying up worrying about you. I stay up for you, while you are awake somewhere else: Far away from me, but all too close to certain other people.
Sonnet CXXX (130)
My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun; Coral is far more red than her lips' red; If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head; My mistresss eyes are nothing like the sun. Coral is much redder than the red of her lips. Compared to the whiteness of snow, her breasts are grayish-brown. Poets describe their mistresses' hair as gold wires, but my mistress has black wires growing on her head. I have seen roses that were a mixture of red and white, But I dont see those colors in her cheeks. And some perfumes smell more delightful than my mistresss reeking breath. I love to hear her speak; yet I know perfectly
I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks; And in some prfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks. I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound. I grant I never saw a goddess go; My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground. And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she belied with false compare.
well That music has a far more pleasant sound. I admit I never saw a goddess walk; When my mistress walks, she treads on the ground. And yet, by heaven, I think my beloved is as special As any woman whom poets have lied about with false comparisons.
Sonnet CL (150) O from what pow'r hast thou this pow'rful might, With insufficiency my heart to sway, To make me give the lie to my true sight, And swear that brightness doth not grace the day? Whence hast thou this becoming of things ill, That in the very refuse of thy deeds There is such strength and warrantise of skill That in my mind thy worst all best exceeds? Who taught thee how to make me love thee more, The more I hear and see just cause of hate? O, though I love what others do abhor, With others thou shouldst not abhor my state. If thy unworthiness raised love in me, More worthy I to be beloved of thee. Oh, what is the source of this mighty power you have, Which controls my affections despite your inadequacies, Making me disbelieve what my eyes truly see until Im so turned around I swear that daylight isnt bright? Where did you get this capacity to make bad things look good in you, To perform the most worthless actions so skillfully That I think your worst is better than anyone elses best? Who taught you how to make me love you more, The more I hear and see good reasons to hate you? Oh, even though I love what other people despise, You shouldnt despise my love the way other people do. Since your unworthiness made me love you, Im the person who deserves your love.
The Complete Poems of William Shakespeare: Venus And Adonis, The Rape Of Lucrece, The Passionate Pilgrim, The Phoenix And The Turtle & A Lover's Complaint
