If there be nothing new, but that which is,
Hath been before, how are our brains beguiled,
Which, labouring for invention, bear amiss
The second burden of a former child?
O, that record could with a back-ward look,
Even of five hundred courses of the sun,
Show me your image in some antique book,
Since mind at first in character was done.
That I might see what the old world could say,
To this composed wonder of your frame,
Whether we are mended, or whether better they,
Or whether revolution be the same.
Oh sure I am the wits of former day,
To subjects worse have given admiring praise.
If you have found this content useful why not read some fascinating facts about the William Shakespeare sonnets? Or, for a list of all 154 Shakespearean sonnets, with links to the full text for each, please click here. Or return to the William Shakespeare facts home page and explore some of the other material we have compiled for your interest, entertainment or education.