1. When in the Chronicle of wasted time,

2. I see descriptions of the fairest wights,

3. And beauty making beautiful old rhyme,

4. In praise of Ladies dead, and lovely Knights,

5. Then in the blazon of sweet beauty's best,

6. Of hand, of foot, of lip, of eye, of brow,

7. I see their antique Pen would have express't,

8. Even such a beauty as you master now.

9. So all their praises are but prophecies

10. Of this our time, all you prefiguring,

11. And for they looked but with divining eyes,

12. They had not still enough your worth to sing:

13. For we which now behold these present days,

14. Have eyes to wonder, but lack tongues to praise.

Lack Tongues to Praise

Dedication: To Henry

Oxford compares "beauty" which represents Henry, with the beautiful subjects of classical poetry. Telling how in Henry he sees the attributes that these "antique" poets would have expressed. That he is such a beauty as they describe and that they were in fact prophesies of Henry. That no one of present day or even those of old truly have the skill to express his beauty.

1^st Quatrain: (1-4)

Another to Henry, first he tells of how in the tales of antiquity they sing praises of ladies and of knights. This is an important contrast because here the poet is writing of a young boy.

2^nd Quatrain: (5-8)

Comparing how their beauty is expressed to the way Henry’s should be.

3rd Quatrain: (9-12)

Line 10 contains a message for all those that are of the opinion that the final word on Henry has been made.

couplet (13-14),

Finishing with there is no way to express your worth. Unfortunately for our poet he is very much in the minority here.

Commentary:

The fourth sonnet to Henry and one expressing Oxford’s complete adoration and wonderment of his son, which will become a more frequent theme and which should be very much compared to the different language and messages that are used when speaking to Elizabeth.

Line 1 usage of "Chronicle" is possibly a generic reference to historical recordings but more likely and specifically is suggesting the Book of Chronicles of the Bible and even possibly the Chronicon (Chronicle). But is probably also an allusion to both Halle's Chronicle and Holinshed's Chronicle and the wasted time allusion the history of the Tudor monarchy. Revealing if nothing else again the importance of proper nouns and the accuracy of the 1609 publication. While line 7's usage of "Pen" again a reference to the historical chroniclers responsible for many of the historical recordings. But the important aspect of the line is the association of the Chronicle with "wasted" time, an allusion to the futility of ending a great lineage .

The line 10 reference to Henry prefiguring is meant to reflect his physical immaturity and is again another important clue to his early age.

What might have been viewed as extravagant exaggeration expressed to others can now be understood in light of referring to royal perfection virtually equivalent to what one would express toward the gods of yore. This is at least the poet’s perspective as a proud father praising the son to whom he expects to fulfill the poet’s most important ambition of all, to rule England. A desire which in turn should reflect on the importance Shakespeare placed in Kings. This sonnet also features a comparison of his son as equal to or superior to anything ever described by classical writers. But also contained and implied in this sonnet is the description of the very cute features of a child, which should also be apparent and more clearer in 104 to come.

Vendler’s analysis leaves the poem without a point. But without the understanding that the boy is far more than he seems and by virtue is of great beauty and importance. The comment on line 8, Even such beauty as you master now is an expression of Henry’s still very young age and an expression of surprise at the beauty he already has but that will grow stronger as he ages.

Note:

Again the Halle's Chronicle is an important linkage of Oxford to Shakespeare via the virtually long ignored findings of Seymour Pitcher linking the Shakespeare's authorship of "Famous Victories" to the Halle annotations in Shakespeare's Halle (Loan 61 in the BL). While I've determined (and others) independently that there is ample reason to regard the Halle as having been annotated by Oxford. Perhaps equally significant is that likely Shakespeare's edition of the Holinshed survived and was identified by Clara de Chambrun in Shakespeare Rediscovered. Those volumes appear to have become lost but one of the critical linkages in my view is the griffe de notaire as I pointed out in 136. That same insignia is most prominent on the top of mysterious Northumberland manuscript so beloved by Baconians. Where I believe the number of loops indicates that the initials embodied were WSS. But additionally I would suggest that this was an important insignia for Shakespeare. And a version which I also found I believe added to the title page of the play Julian and July. Adding to my conjecture that this was Oxford's juvenilia.