Sonnet II

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.
2
 When forty winters shall besiege thy
brow,
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's
field,

Forty winters; This is a metaphor expressing the cold

cruelty of time, comparing to a cold winter and how
attacks youth.

Dig deep trenches; This is a metaphor for the wrinkles on

the man’s face. It’s about how this force of time digs “deep
trenches”.

3
 Imager
yIn this quatrain Shakespeare
uses vocabulary like "dig
deep trenches" which spark
connections that in turn,
stimulate one's sight, hearing
and sense of touch (i.e. see
the ditches, hear the dirt
moved, feel as if you dug
them). There is also the
visualization and feeling of
the cold winter.

4
 Thy youth's proud livery so gazed on
now,
Will be a totter'd weed of small worth
held:

Livery; beautiful clothes that

a young nobleman would
wear

Totter'd weed; is symbolic for what his beauty will become

as he ages. “weed garment" as a piece of clothing.