Sonnet 106

When in the Chronicle of wasted time,

I see discriptions of the fairest wights,

And beautie making beautifull old rime,

In praise of Ladies dead, and lovely Knights,

Then in the blazon of sweet beauties best,

Of hand, of foote, of lip, of eye, of brow,

I see their antique Pen would have exprest,

Even such a beauty as you maister now.

So all their praises are but prophesies

Of this our time, all you prefiguring,

And for they look'd but with devining eyes

They had not skill enough your worth to sing:

For we which now behold these present dayes,

Have eyes to wonder, but lack toungs to praise.

Commentary

Address to his beloved

Changes to the original text

In the first octet, the poet notes that when he reads old verse (old rime) about beautiful people (fairest wights) from the past (Chronicle of wasted time) in praise of people (Ladies dead, and lovely Knights), he realises that when they list the beautiful attributes of these people (in the blazon of sweet beauties best), they are merely describing his beloved.

In the sestet, the poet points out that all their praises were merely divinations of his beloved's beauty, and, even though they could divine the future, they did not have the skill to adequately describe this beauty.

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