S1 E3: Sonnet 2: When forty winters shall besiege thy brow by William Shakespeare

Welcome to The Bard’s Corner, and thank you for joining me today. In this episode, we turn to Sonnet 2 — “When forty winters shall besiege thy brow…” — a meditation on time, beauty, and the quiet legacy we leave behind. I invite you to listen in as we step into Shakespeare’s timeless words and consider how they still speak to us across the centuries. I’m so glad you’re here.

Rebecca

When forty winters shall besiege thy brow

And dig deep trenches in thy beauty’s field,

Thy youth’s proud livery, so gazed on now,

Will be a tattered weed, of small worth held.

Then being asked 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.

Music by Epidemic Sound

“Flight” By Johannes Bornlöf

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/zgDsZLD6DT/