Return to Shakespeare's Sonnet 11 |
1-2.
As fast as thou shalt wane, so fast thou growest / In one of thine, from that which thou departest: Shakespeare here wrestles the syntax to own will, and I'm not quite sure, but I think the whole thing means, "as fast as you lose yourself (through age), just so fast will a child of yours recreate you as he grows to maturity."
3.
youngly: in youth.
4.
convertest: change (to old age).
5.
Herein: i.e., in producing a child.
7.
minded so: of your mind (to remain childless). times should cease: i.e., human history would come to an end (because there would be no more people).
9.
store: a stock to draw upon.
10.
Harsh: displeasing to the eye. featureless: ill-favored, ugly. rude: crudely formed.
11.
Look whom: whomever. As far as I can see, the rest of the line is redundant; the poet seems to be saying that those to whom Nature gives the best gifts she gives the most.
12.
in bounty: i.e., by being bountiful.
13.
carved: fashioned, intended. seal: stamp used to make impressions.
14.
copy: original (as in "printer's copy").