# Sonnet LXXVII explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by William Shakespeare.

## What happens

The poet instructs the young man to use a mirror and a sundial as reminders of his physical decay and the passage of time, and to fill blank pages with his thoughts, which will become like children of his mind, enriching both himself and the book.

## Themes in this chapter

### Time and Mortality

The mirror and sundial directly confront the youth with his aging and the relentless march toward death.

### Procreation and Legacy

The poet frames written thoughts as 'children nursed, deliver'd from thy brain,' offering an intellectual legacy as an alternative to biological procreation.

## Character check-ins

### Youth

The addressee, urged to observe his own aging and to record his thoughts.

### Time

Personified as a thief stealing minutes and progressing toward eternity.

### Death

Implied through 'mouthed graves' as the ultimate consequence of time.

## Key lines

> Thy glass will show thee how thy beauties wear, Thy dial how thy precious minutes waste;

Your mirror will reveal your fading beauty, and your sundial will show how your valuable time is being wasted.

_The poet uses everyday objects to remind the youth of his physical and temporal decline._

> Those children nursed, deliver’d from thy brain, To take a new acquaintance of thy mind.

Those thoughts, nurtured and born from your mind, will become new companions for your intellect.

_Writing down one's thoughts is metaphorically compared to giving birth to children._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se/chapters/lxxvii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_28_se/chapters