Explanation of Shakespeare's Sonnets - No. 16

Sonnet 16

But wherefore do not you a mightier way

Why don't you become stronger

Make war upon this bloody tyrant, Time?

To defeat the bloody overlord, Time

And fortify yourself in your decay

As you gradually decline, you will become stronger

With means more blessed than my barren rhyme?

Use the divine power given to you by God to be better than my humble poems to exhort and praise you

Now stand you on the top of happy hours,

And many maiden gardens, yet unset

And many maiden gardens, yet unset

, waiting for pioneering

With virtuous wish would bear your living flowers,

With holy hope, plant the flowers of your life

Much liker than your painted counterfeit:

Those little flowers are as beautiful as you

So should the lines of life that life repair,

The blood of life needs new life , to be extended

Which this, Time's pencil, or my pupil pen,

Neither in inward worth nor outward fair,

can't draw out your beauty and wisdom

Can make you live yourself in eyes of men.

Let it last forever in people Window to the soul

To give away yourself keeps yourself still,

Don't be alone, admiring yourself,

And you must live, drawn by your own sweet skill .

You must exist in people’s memory and create with your wonderful pen

Notes:

1. The fourth sentence of this poem is a Difficult to understand and translate sentences. Whenever something difficult to understand is encountered, different people will have different translations, and the differences are very big.

And fortify yourself in your decay

With means more blessed than my barren rhyme?

If someone translates the third and fourth sentences,

"Why don't you take more effective self-defense measures than my poems

"

Someone else translated:

"No need to compare with my poems" "A dead pen is an auspicious weapon"

This translation does not make sense.

Let’s analyze this sentence. The key is “means more blessed” in the first half of the sentence. Blessed can be translated as, sacred, God-given

Means is of course a method. If it is translated as a divine method, etc., readers will definitely be confused.

In Shakespeare's time, it was believed that God created the world and created human beings. Human life, human wisdom, seven emotions and six desires, and even reproduction and reproduction are all given by God to mankind. They are miraculous means given by God to mankind, such as the divine power we often say in China.

That is, means more blessed. According to the context and the artistic conception of the entire poem, in this sentence, means more blessed

should refer to reproduction.

The second half of the sentence than my barren rhyme has been translated as "my withered pen" or "my feeble poem", in a comparative format.

The translation does not include Shakespeare's implication. Free translation. What Shakespeare means is that my poems are full of praises for your beauty and youth, but they cannot keep you young forever. Compared with the magical power given by God to let you get married and have children, your beauty will be When passed down to future generations, my poem's praise of you will seem pale and feeble. When translating poetry, this meaning must be translated.

2. Sentences 13 and 14

Original English text To give away yourself keeps yourself still

Translated by some predecessors:

1. Sacrifice yourself, and you can preserve yourself forever

2. Sacrifice yourself and still preserve yourself

If we read the original poem and use this translation, it will make people laugh. . If rewritten as:

? To give away (that) yourself keep yourself still. (object clause)

The translation becomes ? To give away (that) yourself keep yourself still.

Poetry It's easy to understand. The first "yourself" here is to strengthen the tone, instead of "you". Don't read to give away yourself, keep yourself still.

Sentence 14

And you must live, drawn by your own sweet skill.

First half of the sentence Some people translate you must live as "you must live" and "immortal". The key word to translate this half sentence well is "live". In the dictionary, there is live: "to stay in people's memory", which is the most suitable for Shakespeare. Poetic.

p> does not necessarily refer to a specific drawing, but can also be translated as "construction".

Old English Vocabulary:

Thou = you

Thee: object of thou

Thine your thing noun Subject pronoun

Thy your adjective possessive pronoun

Art = are