Sonnet 123

Time, I defy you: your monuments are merely recycled forms, and I refuse to believe that your innovations are novel; I will remain constant despite your corrosion.

Original

Modern

1 No! Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change,

No, Time, thou shalt not boast that I do change:

2 Thy pyramids built up with newer might

Thy pyramids built up with newer might,

3 To me are nothing novel, nothing strange,

To me are nothing novel, nothing strange;

4 They are but dressings of a former sight:

They are but dressings of some quintan fever.

5 Our dates are brief, and therefore we admire,

Thy registers and thee I both defy,

6 What thou dost foist upon us that is old,

Not wondering at the present nor the past,

7 And rather make them born to our desire,

For thy records and what we see doth lie,

8 Than think that we before have heard them told:

Made more or less by thy continual haste:

Volta The volta shifts from criticizing Time's recycled monuments to the speaker's defiant vow: he will defy both Time's records and Time itself.

9 Thy registers and thee I both defy,

This I do vow and this shall ever be;

10 Not wond’ring at the present, nor the past,

I will be true, despite thy scythe and thee,

11 For thy records, and what we see doth lie,

Who have for this unclasped this holy shrine,

12 Made more or less by thy continual haste:

To make of me a formal sepulchre,

13 This I do vow and this shall ever be,

I will be true despite thy scythe and thee

But my eternal love shall ne'er remove,

14 I will be true despite thy scythe and thee.

Nor all of thee although thou steal'st my youth.

Pyramids as Dressings of Former Sights

The speaker addresses Time directly, dismissing its 'pyramids built up with newer might' as nothing novel or strange. They are mere 'dressings of a former sight'—recycled facades covering older structures. The speaker claims that because human lifespans are brief, we mistake recycled forms for genuine novelty and 'rather make them born to our desire, / Than think that we before have heard them told.' Time deceives through the brevity of human memory.

Defying Time's Records

The sestet's defiance is total: the speaker defies both 'thy registers' (Time's records) and Time itself. Crucially, the speaker claims that 'thy records, and what we see doth lie'—that is, even the 'records' we believe to be objective fact are corrupted by Time's 'continual haste.' The only truth available is the speaker's own vow: 'I will be true despite thy scythe and thee.' Constancy becomes the one permanent form of truth.

If this happened today

Trends cycle: fashion, politics, technology all claim to be 'new' but are just old things repackaged. You're tired of the hype cycle, so you decide: I'm not going to chase novelty. I'll be steady and constant while everyone else chases the new thing.

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