William Shakespeare, Sonnet xxxii
If thou survive my well-contented day,
When that churl Death my bones with dust shall cover,
And shalt by fortune once more re-survey
4
These poor rude lines of thy deceased lover,
Compare them with the bettering of the time;
And though they be outstripp'd by every pen,
Reserve them for my love, not for their rhyme. [*]
8
Exceeded by the height of happier men.
O then vouchsafe me but this loving though!
"Had my friend's muse grown with this growing age,
A dearer birth than this his love had brought,
12
To march in ranks of better equipage:
But since he died, and poets better prove,
Theirs for their style I'll read, his for his love.
Notes
line 7: Reserve: the same as preserve. In Pericles we have "Reserve that excellent complexion". [ Back to text ]
Most notes to Shakespeare's sonnets are from Charles Knight's edition, but those in square brackets are mine.