# XXXVII explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by William Shakespeare.

## What happens

The speaker, feeling weakened and diminished by fortune, finds comfort and worth in the youth and virtues of his beloved, living vicariously through the beloved's abundance and glory.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Desire

The speaker's love is engrafted to the beloved's store of virtues, finding comfort and happiness in the beloved's abundance.

### Procreation and Legacy

The speaker lives on through the beloved's qualities, akin to a father taking delight in his child's deeds, suggesting a legacy of worth and truth.

## Character check-ins

### William Shakespeare

The speaker who compares himself to a decrepit father and takes comfort in the beloved's virtues.

### Youth

The active child or beloved whose beauty, birth, wealth, and wit provide the speaker with solace.

## Key lines

> As a decrepit father takes delight To see his active child do deeds of youth, So I, made lame by fortune’s dearest spite, Take all my comfort of thy worth and truth.

Just as an aging father finds joy in watching his energetic child perform youthful acts, I, who have been crippled by fortune's cruelest blow, find all my solace in your merit and honesty.

_The speaker compares his own diminished state to a decrepit father, finding comfort in the beloved's youthful virtues._

> Look, what is best, that best I wish in thee: This wish I have; then ten times happy me!

Whatever is most excellent, I wish that for you; having this wish makes me ten times happier.

_The speaker concludes by expressing that his wish for the beloved's best qualities brings him immense happiness._

## Links

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