Jump to content
    AC Benus
  • Author
  • 130 Words
  • 827 Views
  • 4 Comments
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Translation Trashbin - 13. O thou, my lovely boy, who in thy power

.

A completion of Shakespeare’s

W.H. Sonnet No.126

 

O thou, my lovely boy, who in thy power

Dost hold time’s fickle glass, his sickle's hour:

Who hast by waning grown, and therein shows

Thy lovers withering, as thy sweet self grows.

In Nature – sovereign mistress over wrack,

As thou goest onwards – still will pluck thee back;

She keeps thee to this purpose, that her skill

May Time disgrace, and wretched minute kill.

Yet fear her, O thou minion of her pleasure,

She may detain, but not still keep her treasure;

Her audit, though delayed, answered must be

And her quietus is to render thee.

She may hold thee back, but Love has you go

To let the strong hours of your manhood show.

 

_

The 126th love poem for his beautiful boy – Mr. W.H., "the only begetter of these ensuing Sonnets" – stands out for its form. One, it's the only one rhymed in couplets throughout, and the final two lines are missing. 
For some unknown reason, I was thinking about that this morning and remembering how the original 1609 edition supplies two empty-but-bracketed lines below the poem. This is to emphasis the concluding couplet is missing. But why? As all the evidence points to the poet himself preparing this volume for printing, it's not likely we can say the couplet was "lost." Perhaps, if you follow Booth's reasoning, the title of "Sonnet" for 126 is loose, and refers to the older meaning of sonnetto as general love lyrics. His theory is reasonable, but totally refuted by the nature of the love-lyric-sonnets published in The Passionate Pilgrim. If you compare those songs to 126, it's clear the W.H. poem is a Sonnet in the strictest sense. So my reasoning wondered, could the redacted couplet have been too suggestive, too erotic, too sensual to publish? That is an interesting idea, but more research would have to be done to build an argument for it.
I supplied an ending, one which I think ties up the themes of the poem quite nicely, and returns to the boy vs. man subject of several of the other Sonnets. Thank you for reading :)      
(The slight editing I have done to the poem is to bring it back in line with the original 1609 version for spelling and punctuation. For example, the source material has "power" but later, prissier editors changed it to a ludicrous "pow'r," for reasons unknown...)
_  
Copyright © 2018 AC Benus; All Rights Reserved.
  • Love 5
Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
You are not currently following this story. Be sure to follow to keep up to date with new chapters.

Recommended Comments

Chapter Comments

On 6/21/2018 at 2:36 PM, Mikiesboy said:

You are the bard returned to us...love it

..xo

Thanks for your praise, Tim. It's wonderful you read so much of my work and never miss a chance to encourage me. Muah :)

  • Love 1
Link to comment
On 7/4/2018 at 7:47 AM, Defiance19 said:

‘Prissier editors’ lol. 

 

Bet you Shakespeare wished he’d thought of that.😌

LOL. Oh, Def, I don't know how I missed this comment until now, but thank you :kiss:

Link to comment
View Guidelines

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Newsletter

    Sign Up and get an occasional Newsletter.  Fill out your profile with favorite genres and say yes to genre news to get the monthly update for your favorite genres.

    Sign Up
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Our Privacy Policy can be found here: Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..