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. Sonnet 49 . (original language, but moderately updated) 01. Against that time (if ever that time come) 02. When I shall see thee frown on my defects, 03. When as thy love hath cast his utmost sum, 04. Called to that audit by advis'd respects; 05. Against that time when thou shalt strangely pass, 06. And scarcely greet me with that sun thine eye, 07. When love converted from the thing it was 08. Shall reasons find of settled gravity; 09. Against that time do I ensconce me here 10. Within the knowledge of mine own desert, 11. And this my hand, against my self uprear, 12. To guard the lawful reasons on thy part, 13. To leave poor me, thou hast the strength of laws, 14. Since why to love, I can allege no cause. |
. Sonnet 49 . (paraphrased) 01. In preparation against that time (if that time ever comes,) 02. When I may see you frown upon my shortcomings, (instead of ignoring them,) 03. When, after your love has reckoned its final total of what I'm worth, 04. Called upon to do that "audit" of me by prudent reflections about myself; 05. In preparation for some future day when you may walk by me on the street, 06. And hardly glance an eye in my direction, 07. When your love for me, changed from what it was, 08. Shall find causes, against me, of resolved graveness; 09. In preparation for that time, I take refuge here 10. Within my own awareness of what I deserve, 11. And I take an oath by raising my hand, as a witness against myself, 12. To shield and uphold any legitimate reasons you might have, 13. To leave my unworthy self - and you do have the law on your side, 14. Since why you love me, I can assert no legal case in my defense. |
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Sonnet 49 Gloss
L1: Against = in preparation for. L2: frown on = disapprove of. L2: defects = shortcomings. L3: When as = 'when, after.' (This phrase is not the word "whenas.") L3: cast = computed; reckoned. L3: utmost = final. L3: sum = total. Line 3 - (Note, to the right.) L4: audit = accounting. L4: advis'd = advisable; prudent. 'Well advised.' L4: respects = reflections (an obsolete definition.) The essential idea being the addressee "having another look at" the Poet, "reviewing" him. L5: strangely - Double meaning. 'As a stranger.' 'In a way strange to me, if you're not friendly.' L5: pass = pass me by. L6: scarcely greet = only glance at. L6: sun = source of beams. (Note, to the right.) L7: converted = changed; 'turned from.' L8: reasons = causes. L8: settled = concluded; resolved. L8: gravity = graveness. (Note, to the right.) L9: ensconce = shelter; take refuge. L10: knowledge = awareness. L10: desert = deserving; reward; worth. (Note, to the right.) L11: uprear = raise. (Note, to the right.) L12: guard = shield; uphold. L13: lawful = legitimate. (Note, to the right.) L13: poor = unworthy. L14: allege no cause = assert no legal case. |
Sonnet 49 Notes
Line 3 The idea is that of the addressee submitting to the Poet his "final bill," and giving him no more "credit," so to speak. It would be the time when the Poet would have to "pay." L6: sun = source of beams. In Elizabethan times, vision was accounted for by the idea that the eye was a source of illumination. The concept survives figuratively in the idea of a "beaming smile." Here the Poet is talking about whether the addressee will always "beam" on him. L8: gravity = graveness. Gravity is of the earth, so it implies the addressee's love for the Poet perhaps someday being "dead and buried." L10: desert = deserving; reward; worth. "Mine own desert" = what I deserve. (Not necessarily something good; the Poet was not that simple minded.) L11: uprear = raise. Like raising the right hand to swear an oath in court, to tell the truth. There's a secondary implication, of using his writing hand to compose the "legal" argument against himself that follows. L13: lawful = legitimate. The phrasing at the conclusion of the Sonnet tends to imply a legal relationship. That would then tend to imply that the addressee is his wife (although that is not at all a certain inference.) |
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