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What is your substance, whereof are you made,
That millions of strange shaddowes on you tend?
Since everyone hath, every one, one shade,
And you, but one, can every shadow lend.
Describe Adonis, and the counterfeit
Is poorly imitated after you;
On Helen's cheek all art of beauty set,
And you in Grecian tires are painted new.
Speak of the spring and foison of the year;
The one doth shadow of your beauty show,
The other as your bounty doth appear,
And you in every blessed shape we know.
In all external grace, you have some part,
But you like none, none you, for constant heart.
Commentary
Commentary
Address to an absent beloved
Address to an absent beloved
In the first quatrain, the poet asks what substance his beloved is made of since he is able to manifest himself in myriad different places and forms.
In the second quatrain, the poet gives examples: Adonis is a poor reproduction of him (the beloved), and Helen simply shows another version of him (the beloved).
In the third quatrain, the poet sees the young man in the beauty of spring and the bounty of autumn.
In the final couplet, the poet asserts that every grace can be traced to his beloved, except there is no example to be found of such a constant heart.
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