Sonnet 33 Essay

Sonnet 33
Full many a glorious morning have I seen
Flatter the mountaintops with sovereign eye,
Kissing with golden face the meadows green,
Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy;
Anon permit the basest clouds to ride
With ugly rack on his celestial face,
Stealing unseen to west with this disgrace:
Even so my sun one early morn did shine,
With all triumphant splendour on my brow;
But out, alack, he was but one hour mine,
The region cloud hath mask’d him from me now.
Yet him for this my love no whit disdaineth;
Suns of the world may stain when heaven’s sun staineth

English 10H1
3 April 2012
From Denial to Acceptance All people have a yearning for the return of something they once had in their past. Shakespeare longs for the return of his youth. In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 33, the poet describes the sun—the youth—that once shined on his face. This youth, which was clear to all, only lasted for one hour as the poet ages (11). Dark clouds begin to conceal his outer beauty (12). However, to the young man, who Shakespeare is writing to, age is irrelevant. The young man is merely focused on Shakespeare’s inner beauty, as it is the most significant to him. Shakespeare completes this sonnet by explaining that “love thinks no less of him” (13) for his concealed beauty, as love merely cares for his inner beauty. This sonnet is a member of the group of sonnets that the poet addresses to a young man. The poet has an intense romantic relationship with this young man. In this sonnet, the poet clarifies that he has been deeply hurt by his young friend. It cannot be determined exactly what specific wrongdoing prompted such displeasure. However, it can be assumed that the young man has many interests other than the poet, and he may have surrounded himself with other friends or lovers leaving the poet feeling isolated and unwanted (Booth 187). Additionally,