When forty winters shall besiege thy brow (Sonnet II): Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is a great writer of sonnets. The Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains. Each quatrain consists of four lines. At the end there is a couplet. The rhyme scheme of Shakespearean sonnet is abab, cdcd, efef and gg. The following sonnet (Sonnet no. 02) is an example of Shakespearean sonnet.
Thy youth's proud livery so gazed on now,
Then being asked, where all thy beauty lies,
To say, within thine own deep sunken eyes,
Were an all-eating shame, and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserv'd 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,