1 Devouring Time blunt thou the lion’s paws,
Time that devours all, dull the lion's claws, Go ahead, Time—wear down the lion's strength, time destroys everything 'Blunt' = to dull, weaken; apostrophe to Time as a devouring force.
2 And make the earth devour her own sweet brood,
And make the earth consume her own children, and let the earth devour everything it birthed, destroy everything 'Brood' = offspring, creatures; the earth as mother consuming her children.
3 Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger’s jaws,
Pull the sharp teeth from the tiger's mouth, rip the teeth out of the tiger's jaws, destroy strength
4 And burn the long-lived phoenix, in her blood,
And even burn the phoenix, immortal in legend, even burn the immortal phoenix, destroy the eternal Phoenix = mythical bird that lives for centuries; Time can destroy even the supposedly eternal.
5 Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet’st,
Turn seasons from happy to sad as you pass, turn seasons from joy to sorrow as you rush by, change everything as you pass 'Fleet'st' = passest swiftly; seasons as Time's victims.
6 And do whate’er thou wilt swift-footed Time
And do whatever you want, swift-footed Time, and destroy anything you want, racing Time, destroy whatever you want 'Swift-footed' = quick, unstoppable; classical epithet for personified Time.
7 To the wide world and all her fading sweets:
To this wide world and all its fading beauties, attack the whole world and all its temporary pleasures, destroy all fleeting beauty 'Fading sweets' = temporary beauties, transient pleasures.
Volta The pivot from accepting Time's universal dominion to categorical refusal: 'But I forbid thee one most heinous crime.' The speaker claims authority over Time itself through the power of verse.
8 But I forbid thee one most heinous crime, The speaker's defiant command to Time itself: poetry grants immunity from temporal decay.
But I forbid you one atrocious act, but there's one thing I forbid you to do, but not this one thing 'Heinous' = atrocious, monstrous; the speaker asserts authority over Time.
9 O carve not with thy hours my love’s fair brow,
Don't carve wrinkles into my beloved's beautiful forehead, don't mark his beautiful face with age, don't wrinkle his face 'Carve with thy hours' = to mark with wrinkles, the passing of time; 'brow' = forehead.
Wordplay
- carve = to wrinkle, to mark with age
- 'thy hours' = the passing of time itself as a tool
- the image is visual: aging literally 'carves' the face, sculpts it into wrinkles
10 Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen,
Don't draw wrinkles with your ancient hand, don't write age lines on that face, don't mark him with your pen 'Antique pen' = Time as an ancient writer marking the face with wrinkles.
11 Him in thy course untainted do allow,
In your passage, let him remain unmarked, let him pass through time without being touched, let him stay perfect 'Untainted' = unmarked, uncorrupted, unblemished.
12 For beauty’s pattern to succeeding men. The justification for preservation: the young man's beauty is a standard, a 'pattern' for all generations.
As beauty's standard for all future generations. as the model of beauty for everyone who comes after. as beauty's eternal example 'Pattern' = model, exemplar, standard; beauty preserved for posterity.
13 Yet do thy worst, old Time; despite thy wrong,
Yet do your worst, old Time; despite your cruelty, Go ahead, Time, do what you're going to do anyway, but time will do what it does 'Do thy worst' = a challenge to Time, accepting that it will try to destroy.
14 My love shall in my verse ever live young. The resolution: verse preserves eternal youth, making poetry an instrument of immortality.
My beloved will live eternally young in my poetry. my love will stay forever young in my verses. he'll stay young forever in my poem 'Live young' = retain youth, remain eternally youthful through poetry.