Sonnet 106: When in the Chronicle of Wasted Time
Sonnet 106: When in the Chronicle of Wasted Time - meaning Summary
Past Praise as Prophecy
Shakespeare addresses a beloved whose beauty surpasses the praise of earlier poets. Reading old chronicles and poetic "blazon" lists, the speaker finds that past descriptions inadvertently forecast the beloved’s features. Those earlier writers had prophetic glimpses but lacked full skill, while contemporaries can see and marvel yet still cannot adequately name or praise the subject’s worth. The sonnet links poetic tradition to an admired, almost ineffable presence.
Read Complete AnalysesWhen in the chronicle of wasted time I see descriptions of the fairest wights, And beauty making beautiful old rhyme In praise of ladies dead, and lovely knights, Then, in the blazon of sweet beauty’s best, Of hand, of foot, of lip, of eye, of brow, I see their antique pen would have expressed Even such a beauty as you master now. So all their praises are but prophecies Of this our time, all you prefiguring; And, for they looked but with divining eyes, They had not skill enough your worth to sing. For we, which now behold these present days, Have eyes to wonder, but lack tongues to praise.
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