Shake-speares Sonnets (Quarto 1, 1609)
Author: William ShakespeareEditors: Hardy M. Cook, Ian LancashirePeer Reviewed


1FRom faire
st creatures we de
sire increa
se,
¶That thereby beauties
Rose might neuer die,
¶But as the riper
should by time decea
se,
¶His tender heire might beare his memory:
5But thou contracted to thine owne bright eyes,
¶Feed'
st thy lights flame with
selfe
sub
stantiall fewell,
¶Making a famine where aboundance lies,
¶Thy
selfe thy foe,
_to thy
sweet
selfe too cruell:
¶Thou that art now the worlds fre
sh ornament,
10And only herauld to the gaudy
spring,
¶Within thine owne bud burie
st thy content,
¶And tender chorle mak
st wa
st in niggarding:
¶_Pitty the world,
_or el
se this glutton be,
¶_To eate the worlds due,
_by the graue and thee.
¶VVHen fortie Winters
shall be
seige thy brow,
¶And digge deep trenches in thy beauties field,
¶Thy youthes proud liuery
so gaz'd on now,
¶Wil be a totter'd weed of
smal worth held:
20Then being a
skt,
_where all thy beautie lies,
¶Where all the trea
sure of thy lu
sty daies;
¶To
say within thine owne deepe
sunken eyes,
¶Were an all-eating
shame,
_and thriftle
sse prai
se.
¶How much more prai
se de
seru'd thy beauties v
se,
25If thou could
st an
swere this faire child of mine
¶Shall
sum my count,
_and make my old excu
se
¶Proouing his beautie by
succe
ssion thine.
B

