Elena Maslova-Levin

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Home › Sonnets in colour › Sonnets 19-34 › Sonnet 19: For beauty's pattern to succeeding men

Sonnet 19: For beauty's pattern to succeeding men

Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws, And make the earth devour her own sweet brood; Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws, And burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood; Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet'st, And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time, To the wide world and all her fading sweets; But I forbid thee one most heinous crime: O! carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow, Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen; Him in thy course untainted do allow For beauty's pattern to succeeding men. Yet, do thy worst old Time: despite thy wrong, My love shall in my verse ever live young.

William Shakespeare

 Sonnet 19: For beauty's pattern to succeeding men

October 2012

The background story and the reference image for this sonnet painting on my blog