Shakespeare’s Sonnet #63 “Against my love shall be, as I am now”

Sonnet 63

Against my love shall be, as I am now,
With Time’s injurious hand crushed and o’erworn;
When hours have drained his blood and filled his brow
With lines and wrinkles; when his youthful morn
Hath travelled on to age’s steepy night,
And all those beauties whereof now he’s king
Are vanishing, or vanished out of sight,
Stealing away the treasure of his spring;
For such a time do I now fortify
Against confounding age’s cruel knife,
That he shall never cut from memory
My sweet love’s beauty, though my lover’s life.
His beauty shall in these black lines be seen,
And they shall live, and he in them still green.

Simplified Modern English Translation

Against my love shall be, as I am now,
In anticipation of the time my love shall be, as I am now,

With Time’s injurious hand crushed and o’erworn;
with Time’s injurious hand crushed and worn out;

When hours have drained his blood and filled his brow
when hours have drained his blood and filled his brow

With lines and wrinkles; when his youthful morn
with lines and wrinkles; when his youth

Hath travelled on to age’s steepy night,
has travelled on to old age,

And all those beauties whereof now he’s king
and all those beauties whereof now he’s king

Are vanishing, or vanished out of sight,
are vanishing or vanished out of sight,

Stealing away the treasure of his spring;
stealing away the treasure of his spring;

For such a time do I now fortify
for such a time do I now construct defenses

Against confounding age’s cruel knife,
agains the destructive hand of Time,

That he shall never cut from memory
so that Time shall never cut from human memory

My sweet love’s beauty, though my lover’s life.
my sweet love’s beauty, even though his life be ended.

His beauty shall in these black lines be seen,
His beauty shall in these black lines be seen,

And they shall live, and he in them still green.
and they shall live, and in them he will forever remain young.

Reading of Sonnet 63

The images in the YouTube video are from an original 1609 edition of Shake-speares Sonnets held by the British Library.  It is one of only thirteen copies in existence.  Images courtesy of the Octavo Corporation.  

Text from Original 1609 Quarto

Transcription courtesy of University of Virginia Library:

Against my loue shall be as I am now
*With times iniurious hand chrusht and ore-worne,
When houres haue dreind his blood and fild his brow
With lines and wrincles, when his youthfull morne
Hath trauaild on to Ages steepie night,
And all those beauties whereof now he’s King
Are vanishing, or vanisht out of sight,
Stealing away the treasure of his Spring.
For such a time do I now fortifie
Against confounding Ages cruell knife,
That he shall neuer cut from memory
My sweet loues beauty, though my louers life.
His beautie shall in these blacke lines be seene,
And they shall liue, and he in them still greene.

 

* indicates fully justified line, compositor may have adjusted spelling to fit the line.