1. When forty winters shall beseige thy brow,
2. And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,
3. Thy youth's proud livery so gazed on now,
4. Will be a tatter'd weed of small worth held:
5. Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies,
6. Where all the treasure of thy lusty days;
7. To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes,
8. Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.
9. How much more praise deserved thy beauty's use,
10. If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine
11. Shall sum my count and make my old excuse,'
12. Proving his beauty by succession thine.
13. This were to be new made when thou art old,
14. And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.
Dedication: To Henry
A father’s final expression to his son that he will be proud if Henry continues his life and has a child of his own to carry on the lineage despite never having expressed his true purpose.
1st Quatrain: (1-4)
To Henry with a speculation of things to come in 40 years telling him how time will take its toll on him in lines 1 and 2. That his body so young and verile now will be worn as Oxford's very likely now is.
2nd Quatrain: (5-8)
Preparing him for the time in the future when people will ask about the great beauty that our poet has so elaborately referred to in his now young and active years in lines 5 and 6. Foretelling of the time when Henry should tell then that this praise referred to was not without merit.
3rd Quatrain: (9-12)
Telling him that more praise however was deserved for him being recognized and Oxford could say proudly it was his son in lines 9 and 10. Tell him that this contingency would have justified his praise in line 11. Using appropriately the word succession in line 12 Oxford tells him of his purpose and even reflects that Oxford still has hope of Henry's own succession.
couplet (13-14),
Telling Henry that he himself could then enjoy this feeling of seeing his own prodigy and the wonderful joy it would bring him.
Commentary:
Oxford now finally expresses to Henry that he still loves him and that despite his not being recognized Oxford still wishes for him to carry on his lineage. The forty winters expressed is possibly another forty winters on top of the age of Henry which would likely been about twenty in what is likely now 1603 the year of Elizabeth’s death. That the language and message is better understood as that of a paternal relationship is hopefully clear and better understood as the correct context than a man of immensely inferior rank speaking to a young lord not of his relation. Thus from a commentary/investigation of science perspective, I believe Shakespeare is thus also reflecting on the possible heritability of longevity. However more importantly this is an important dating aspect as this places the poem very much around 1600. As Southampton is likely 3 years older than previously thought. Due to the need to conceal his birth. While adding forty years to bring him to Elizabeth's age then makes him approximately slightly younger than the age of thirty and thus the year is roughly thus 1599-1601.
It is worth mentioning perhaps that there is evidence of this as one of the earlier sonnets at least by traditional dating but this would still be a late sonnet by the dating provided here. So to provide for the message of this sonnet, in a more sensible way of when actual hope had been lost instead of the mere potential of the lost hope of the poem and its altered message of hope that Henry’s lineage would still live on despite his not having gained the actual succession hope for. Below is the earlier version of the sonnet which had associated with it the title Spes Altera, which I believe a literal translation is “Hope Altered” and quite a fitting if misunderstood title. But more importantly it is very analogous to the original expression in Virgil's Aenied, where Aenea's son Ascanius is roughly proclaimed A "second hope of mighty Rome" (magnae spes altera romae).1
When forty winters shall besiege thy brow
And trench deep furrows in that lovely field
Thy youth’s faire livery so accounted now
Shall bee like rotten weeds of no worth held
Then being asked where all thy beauty lives
Where all the luster of thy youthful days
To say within these hollow sunken eyes
Were an all-eaten truth, & worthless praise
O how much better were thy beauty’s use
If thou couldst say this pretty child of mine
Saves my account & makes my old excuse
Making his beauty by succession thine
This were to bee new borne when thou art old
And see thy blood warm when thou feel’st it cold
1. A Companion to Shakespeare's Works: Poems, problem comedies, late plays (page 10)
John Wiley & Sons, Jun 9, 2003