O truant Muse, what shall be thy amends
For thy neglect of truth in beauty dyed?
Both truth and beauty on my love depends;
So dost thou too, and therein dignified.
Make answer, Muse. Wilt thou not haply say,
"Truth needs no colour with his colour fixed,
Beauty no pencil, beauty's truth to lay,
But best is best, if never intermixed"?
Because he needs no praise, wilt thou be dumb?
Excuse not silence so, for't lies in thee
To make him much outlive a gilded tomb
And to be praised of ages yet to be.
    Then do thy office, Muse; I teach thee how
    To make him seem, long hence, as he shows now.

Added: Feb 20 2003 | Viewed: 682 times | Comments (0)

Poet: William Shakespeare
Poem: 101. Sonnet 101: O truant Muse, what shall be thy amends
Volume: The Sonnets
Year: Published/Written in 1609
There are no comments for this poem. Why not be the first one to post something about it?

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Sonnet 101: O truant Muse, what shall be thy amends, has not yet been commented on. You can click here to be the first to post a comment about it. Of course you can also always discuss poems by William Shakespeare with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!