Sonnet 2

When forty winters shall besiege thy brow,

And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,
Thy youth's proud livery so gazed on now,
Will be a totter'd weed of small worth held:
Then being asked, where all thy beauty lies,
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days;
To say, within thine own deep sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame, and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserv'd thy beauty's use,
If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine
Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse,'
Proving his beauty by succession thine!
This were to be new made when thou art old,
And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

Modern English:

When forty years has passed, which is seen in your wrinkles

your beauty will not last
your youth is very desirable right now
but it will not be worth anything
people will ask where your beauty is
where all that matters when you’re young
to the people who ask, within your own deep-sunken eyes
someone should be ashamed of themselves
you are praised because of your beauty
you could answer “this beautiful child is mine”
he counts the amount, and makes his old excuse
he can prove his beauty with his child
his child can make his beauty re-born, when he grows old
and feel how warm the blood is, even though you feel cold.
Summary

In Sonnet 2 the speaker begins by directly addressing the subject, saying that when he turns 40
years old, his youthful beauty, now widely admired, will be greatly diminished. If at that point the
subject were asked what happened to all of his beauty, it would be a pointless shame to say that it
lies in his eyes, which are now deeply sunken from the effects of aging. The first quatrain uses
metaphors of war and nature to describe the effects of aging on the subject: 40 winters will "dig
deep trenches" into the beautiful "field" of the subject's brow, and the "proud livery," or uniform, of
youth will become no more than a "weed," a tattered garment, with a possible play on a weed
growing in the field. The speaker then describes two scenarios in the second and third quatrains that
could occur when the youth reaches 40. In the second quatrain, the speaker says what a shame it
would be to say that the treasure of youth was spent to produce nothing better than "deep-sunken
eyes."

It would be a much more praiseworthy use of his beauty, the speaker says, to be able to say that he
has produced a child. This will be evidence that he used his beauty wisely, justifying his life in his
old age; the child, by inheriting his beauty, will prove that he is the subject's heir. In this way, there
will be a rebirth for the subject when he is old.

Analysis

Sonnet 2 continues the theme begun in Sonnet 1, which is that the subject, the fair youth or young
man to whom many of the sonnets are addressed, should have children to pass on his beauty. It's
written in the form of an argument, as if the speaker is using logic to convince the subject of a
thesis.

The phrase all-eating shame, which refers to the idea that the subject is consuming his beauty by
living a life of pleasure and not producing an heir, brings to mind the image in Sonnet 1 of the
flame consuming the candle. Furthermore, the phrase lusty days in line 6 is a possible pun on
lustful, suggesting that the youth might be wasting his time purely in pursuit of pleasure.

In the third quatrain, the speaker describes a scenario in which the subject has made better "use" of
his beauty (with a possible sexual double meaning) by having an heir. The phrase sum my count
uses an accounting metaphor, which occurs several times throughout the sonnets. The phrase make
my old excuse means that the heir will, when the subject is old, justify the way he has spent his
beauty.

The final couplet contains two examples of Shakespeare's predilection for using apparently opposite
terms in close proximity. In line 13, by producing an heir, the speaker says the subject will be "new
made" when he is "old." Line 14 not only rhymes with but also echoes the sense of line 13 by using
another pair of opposites: the subject's blood will "warm" when he feels "cold.

Commentary

1. When forty winters shall besiege thy brow,

besiege = lay siege to. A term from warfare. Forty winters (forty years) when added to the young
man's present age, would make him about 60. At such an age he would have many wrinkles,
although it is generally reckoned that in Elizabethan times, owing to dietary inadequacies and
disease, people aged much more rapidly, and even a forty year old could be deemed to have reached
old age. So the poet could be referring to the youth as he might be when he reaches forty.

2. And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,

dig deep trenches The besieging army would dig trenches to undermine the city's walls. But the
reference may also be to furrows dug in a field when ploughing.

3. Thy youth's proud livery so gazed on now,

livery = uniform worn by servants in a nobleman's house. It could be quite sumptuous, if the
nobleman wished to make a show of wealth.

4. Will be a totter'd weed of small worth held:

totter'd weed = a tattered garment. Tottered is an old spelling of tattered. weeds - often refers to
clothing in Shakespeare.

5. Then being asked, where all thy beauty lies,

being asked = if you were to be asked; in the future, when you might be asked.

lies = is; is buried; is hidden.

6. Where all the treasure of thy lusty days;

lusty days = the days of youthful exuberance; days of lustful behaviour. Note that treasure contains
a sexual innuendo, implying sexual parts, or semen, depending on context. Compare:
.....................treasure thou some place With beauty's treasure, ere it be self-kill'd. 6 Will will fulfil
the treasure of thy love, 136
7. To say, within thine own deep sunken eyes,

to say = to reply (to the question posed in the two lines above).

within thine own deep sunken eyes - the treasure of days long gone would show nothing surviving
other than hollow eyes, caused by the process of ageing. Possibly also a hinted reference to the
supposed effect of sexual excess (too much masturbation?).

8. Were an all-eating shame, and thriftless praise.

all-eating shame = a shame which devours all sense of right and decorum. thriftless praise = praise
which produces no result or advantage. A praise of yourself which is clearly misplaced and
damaging to you.

thriftless = showing no sense of thrift, or economy.

9. How much more praise deserv'd thy beauty's use,

thy beauty's use = the use which you make of your beauty, the profit you derive from it.

6-9. Undoubtedly a sexual meaning to these lines, especially in treasure of thy lusty days, thy
beauty's use. (See notes above) The youth is accused of expending his sexual energy upon himself,
with the concomitant result of shame, exhaustion, sunken eyes and failure to point to any lasting
result. See extended discussion of SonnetI

10. If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine

If you could reply in response to their questions, 'This child of mine, etc., etc.'

11. Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse,'

sum my count = add up the balance sheet of my life; probably a bawdy pun on count, pronounced
cunt. Hence, 'give a reckoning for all the cunts I have enjoyed'.

make my old excuse = justify my life when I am an old man; or, satisfy the arguments advanced of
old, that I should produce heirs; or make my habitual, frequently repeated excuse. Shakespeare uses
old in this sense in Macbeth:

If a man were a porter of hell-gate, he should have old turning the key. Mac.II.3.2-3.

12. Proving his beauty by succession thine!

Proving, by his beauty, that he succeeds you as an heir to your beauty. proving also has the meaning
of 'testing, trying out' which may be relevant here.

13. This were to be new made when thou art old,

This were to be new made = this would be as if you were being newly created.
14. And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

Cold and freezing blood was thought to be the traditional accompaniment of old age. The message
of the couplet is that a child made in his image would invigorate and effectively renew him when he
reached old age. His blood would flow warm in his veins again.

______________________________

Lyrical I is convincing someone He /she must have a baby to preserve their beauty- Her child is the
proof of her former beauty. No conclusion as such.

All sonnets are all written to a young man.

“The lusty days”  duality meaning, young or healthy or sex and etc.
Lush, young days, sex
it’s ABAB-CDCD-EFEF-GG  into four sections
14 lines
Unstressed/stressed fits  the iambic fits
It fits the iambic pentameters and is a typical Shakespearean poem.