Sonnet 37
As a decrepit father takes delight
love
inadequacy
consolation
youth
As a decrepit father takes delight
To see his active child do deeds of youth,
So I, made lame by fortune's dearest spite,
Take all my comfort of thy worth and truth.
For whether beauty, birth, or wealth, or wit,
Or any of these all, or all, or more,
Entitled in thy parts do crowned sit,
I make my love engrafted to this store:
So then I am not lame, poor, nor despised,
Whilst that this shadow doth such substance give
That I in thy abundance am sufficed
And by a part of all thy glory live.
Look, what is best, that best I wish in thee:
This wish I have; then ten times happy me!
What It Means
Shakespeare compares himself to an old father who lives vicariously through his child's accomplishments. He has no physical beauty, no strength, no social standing. But the young man has all of these, and Shakespeare has a claim on him through love. His own insufficiency is compensated by association. When you have nothing yourself, the accomplishments of someone you love become your own.
Context
Part of the Fair Youth sequence. The 'decrepit father' image reveals Shakespeare positioning himself as older, lesser, and dependent on the young man's excellence.
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