Shakespeares 's sonnets

I will try to post one poem everyday. Please follow and enjoy:

SONNET 1
FROM fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty''s rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heir might bear his memory:
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed''st thy light''st flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world''s fresh ornament
And only herald to the gaudy spring,
Within thine own bud buriest thy content
And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding.
Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
To eat the world''s due, by the grave and thee. ​

SONNET 2
When forty winters shall beseige thy brow,
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty''s field,
Thy youth''s proud livery, so gazed on now,
Will be a tatter''d weed, of small worth held:
Then being ask''d where all thy beauty lies,
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days,
To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserved thy beauty''s use,
If thou couldst answer ''This fair child of mine
Shall sum my count and make my old excuse,''
Proving his beauty by succession thine!
This were to be new made when thou art old,
And see thy blood warm when thou feel''st it cold. ​

Little about Shakespearê?Ts sonnets:
Shakespeare''s sonnets comprise a collection of 154 poems in sonnet form written by William Shakespeare that deal with such themes as love, beauty, politics, and mortality. The poems were probably written over a period of several years. All but two first appeared in a 1609 collection; numbers 138 ("When my love swears that she is made of truth") and 144 ("Two loves have I, of comfort and despair") had previously been published in a 1599 miscellany entitled The Passionate Pilgrim.
The sonnets were published under con***ions that have become unclear to history. For example, there is a mysterious dedication at the beginning of the text wherein a certain "Mr. W.H." is described as "the only begetter" of the poems by the publisher Thomas Thorpe, but it is not known who this man was. Also, although the works were written by William Shakespeare, it is not known if the publisher used an authorized manuscript from him, or an unauthorized copy.
The first 17 sonnets are written to a young man, urging him to marry and have children, thereby passing down his beauty to the next generation. These are called the procreation sonnets. Most of them, however, 18-126, are addressed to a young man expressing the poet''s love for him. Sonnets 127-152 are written to the poet''s mistress expressing his love for her. The final two sonnets, 153-154, are allegorical. The final thirty or so sonnets are written about a number of issues, such as the young man''s infidelity with the poet''s mistress, self-resolution to control his own lust, beleaguered criticism of the world, etc.
(extract from Wikipedia.org)

Sonnet 3
Look in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest
Now is the time that face should form another;
Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,
Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.
For where is she so fair whose unear''d womb
Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?
Or who is he so fond will be the tomb
Of his self-love, to stop posterity?
Thou art thy mother''s glass and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime;
So thou through windows of thine age shalt see,
Despite of wrinkles this thy golden time.
But if thou live, remember''d not to be,
Die single and thine image dies with thee
Sonnet 4
Unthrifty loveliness, why dost thou spend
Upon thy self thy beauty''s legacy?
Nature''s bequest gives nothing, but doth lend,
And being frank she lends to those are free:
Then, beauteous niggard, why dost thou abuse
The bounteous largess given thee to give?
Profitless usurer, why dost thou use
So great a sum of sums, yet canst not live?
For having traffic with thy self alone,
Thou of thy self thy sweet self dost deceive:
Then how when nature calls thee to be gone,
What acceptable au*** canst thou leave?
Thy unused beauty must be tombed with thee,
Which, used, lives th'' executor to be.​

Tao_lao and CBC,
I just found this site about Shakespeare''s Sonnets. In there, it contains all of the Sonnets, a paraphrase for each Sonnet, and a small analyzing piece for each as well.
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/
SONNET 1
FROM fairest creatures we desire increase,
That thereby beauty''s rose might never die,
But as the riper should by time decease,
His tender heir might bear his memory:
But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes,
Feed''st thy light''st flame with self-substantial fuel,
Making a famine where abundance lies,
Thyself thy foe, to thy sweet self too cruel.
Thou that art now the world''s fresh ornament
And only herald to the gaudy spring,
Within thine own bud buriest thy content
And, tender churl, makest waste in niggarding.
Pity the world, or else this glutton be,
To eat the world''s due, by the grave and thee.
PARAPHRASE
We desire that all created things may grow more plentiful,
So that nature''s beauty may not die out,
But as soon as old man dies at the hand of time,
He leaves an heir to carry on his memory:
But you, interested only in your own beauty,
Feed the radiant light of life with self-regarding fuel,
Making a void of beauty by so obsessing over your own looks,
With this behavior you are being cruel to yourself.
You are now the newest ornament in the world, young and beautiful
And the chief messenger of spring,
But you are burying the gifts you have been giving within yourself
And, dear one, because you deny others your beauty, you are actually wasting it.
Take pity on the world, or else be regarded as a selfish glutton,
By the laws of God and nature you must create a child, so that the grave does not devour the memory of your loveliness.

SONNET 2
When forty winters shall beseige thy brow,
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty''s field,
Thy youth''s proud livery, so gazed on now,
Will be a tatter''d weed, of small worth held:
Then being ask''d where all thy beauty lies,
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days,
To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserved thy beauty''s use,
If thou couldst answer ''This fair child of mine
Shall sum my count and make my old excuse,''
Proving his beauty by succession thine!
This were to be new made when thou art old,
And see thy blood warm when thou feel''st it cold.
PARAPHRASE
Forty years from now, when your brow is wrinkled with age,
And you are showing all the other signs of aging,
The pride and greatness of your youth, so much admired by everyone now,
Will be worth as little as a tattered weed:
Then, when you are asked ''where is your beauty now?'',
And, ''where are all the treasures you had during your days of lust?''
You must say only within your own eyes, now sunk deep in their sockets,
Where lies a shameful confession of greed and self-obsession.
If you would have only put your beauty to greater use,
If only you could have answered ''This fair child of mine
Shall give an account of my life and prove that I made no misuse of my time on earth.''
Proving that his beauty, because he is your son, was once yours!
This child would be new-made when you are old,
And you would see your own blood flow warm through him when you are cold.
ANALYSIS
The theme of the necessity of procreation found in Sonnet 1 continues here. The poet''s lover is clearly handsome, and much gazed upon by other men and women. But, Shakespeare stresses that this beauty will not last, and that it is selfish and foolish for his lover not to prepare for the loss of his beauty and youth. The only way he can truly prepare is to create a child (a male child in this case) so that his son can carry on his name and all his wonderful qualities, including his unsurpassed beauty. Much debate has surrounded the true identity of Shakespeare young man, but many believe he was the Earl of Southampton, the poet''s close friend and patron.

very thankful to Trang, the link u gave is so useful. I saved it into my Favourites. It helps me improve my lack knowledge about Shakespeare''s sonnets
tks again