Sonnet CXXIII
No, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change:Thy pyramids built up with newer mightTo me are nothing novel, nothing strange;They are but dressings of a former sight.Our dates are brief, and therefore we admireWhat thou dost foist upon us that is old;And rather make them born to our desireThan think that we before have heard them told.Thy registers and thee I both defy,Not wondering at the present nor the past,For thy records and what we see doth lie,Made more or less by thy continual haste.This I do vow and this shall ever be;I will be true despite thy scythe and thee.
Words in this poem
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
- foist n.
- A light and fast-sailing ship. Beau. & Fl. [OF. fuste stick, boat, fr. L. fustis cudgel. Cf. 1st Fust.]
- defy v. t.
- To renounce or dissolve all bonds of affiance, faith, or obligation with; to reject, refuse, or renounce. [F. défier, OF. deffier, desfier, LL. disfidare to disown faith or fidelity, to dissolve the bond of allegiance, as between the vassal and his lord; hence, to ch]
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sonnet CXXIII is in the public domain. This text is taken from Shakespeare's Sonnets, Project Gutenberg ebook #1041; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: William Shakespeare, Sonnet CXXIII, in The Sonnets (1609), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1041, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/shakespeare-sonnets/sonnet-123.html, id L00141.
Form and metre
Sonnet CXXIII is 14 lines in a single stanza. It rhymes ABABCDCDEFEFGG, the pattern of the English sonnet. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 21% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other English sonnets, other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCDCDEFEFGG changeA · mightB · strangeA · sightB · admireC · oldD · desireC · toldD · defyE · pastF · lieE · hasteF · beG · theeG
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| No, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change: | 10 | ·········· |
| Thy pyramids built up with newer might | 10 | ·/˘˘···/˘· |
| To me are nothing novel, nothing strange; | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| They are but dressings of a former sight. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Our dates are brief, and therefore we admire | 10 | /·······˘/ |
| What thou dost foist upon us that is old; | 10 | ·········· |
| And rather make them born to our desire | 11 | ·/˘····/˘/˘ |
| Than think that we before have heard them told. | 10 | ·········· |
| Thy registers and thee I both defy, | 10 | ·/˘˘····˘/ |
| Not wondering at the present nor the past, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| For thy records and what we see doth lie, | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Made more or less by thy continual haste. | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| This I do vow and this shall ever be; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I will be true despite thy scythe and thee. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
On this poem
Notes from the edition 3
Notes by William J. Rolfe, Shakespeare's Sonnets (New York, 1905), Internet Archive scan
- Line 2 Thy pyramids. "I think this is metaphorical ; all that Time piles up from day to day, all his new stupendous erections are really but ' dressings of a former sight.' Is there a reference to the new love, the 'ruined love built anew' (119. 11) between the two friends ? The same metaphor appears in the next sonnet : ' No, it [his love] was builded far from accident ;' and again in 125 : ' Laid great bases for eternity,' etc. Does Shakspere mean here that this new love is really the same with the old love ; he will recognize the identity of new and old, and not wonder at either the past or pres- ent?" (Dowden). Herford makes thy pyramids " all that Time piles up from day to day ; new structures of event." Dressings trimming up, ornamental repetitions.
- Line 5 Admire. Wonder at ; as in T. N. iii. 4. 165 : " Wonder not, nor admire not," etc.
- Line 7 And rather make them, etc. Them refers to the things im- plied in what — things that we choose to regard as new, though really old. 1 1. Records. S. accents the noun on either syllable, as may suit the measure. Cf. 55. 8 above.
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