William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 14 Recited by James Louis Steed

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet Fourteen (Not From The Stars Do I My Judgement Pluck;) is the 14th of his 154 sonnets published in 1609. This is also the Fourteenth of the “Fair Youth” sonnets, in which an unnamed man is being addressed by the speaker. In addition to that, it’s the Fourteenth of the “procreation sonnets” where he feels compelled to convince the fair youth he’s addressing to get out there and get busy with procreation. While this poem is considered to be in the procreation series of sonnets, it is not as blatant as the previous sonnets in the series about the requests that the fair youth have a child. It seems to be more about the poet’s fascination and relationship with the fair youth. The imagery is that of stars and, as has been typical, doom, death and decay. Still, though, there is a lot of fanciful musings about eyes and how they hold the secrets of the stars. Particularly, in this sonnet, the fair youth’s eyes are a fascination to the poet and help him to better understand life itself.

Sonnet Fourteen – Not From The Stars Do I My Judgement Pluck;