When forty winters shall besiege thy brow ( M.A Eng. 1st sem)

SONNET 2

TEXT:

When forty winters shall beseige thy brow, 
And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,
Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now, 
Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held: 
Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies, 
Where all the treasure of thy lusty days; 
To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes, 
Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.
How much more praise deserved 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, 
    And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

DEFFICULT WORDS

 beseige (1): the beginning of a straightforward military metaphor (dig deep trenches, beauty's field, livery).

proud livery (3): the poet's depiction of his friend proudly wearing his own youthfulness as one would wear a uniform (livery).

tatter'd weed (4): tattered garment (the youth's livery in the above line).

lusty (6): passionate or vigorous.

all-eating shame (8): all-consuming shame.

thriftless (8): unprofitable.

Shall sum my count (11): Shall settle my accounts.

make my old excuse (11): justify my old age.

PARAPHRASE 

When forty years have made your brow wrinkled with age,
And you are showing all the other signs of aging,
The pride and greatness of your youth, so much admired by everyone now,
Will be worth as little as a tattered weed:
Then, when you are asked 'where is your beauty now?',
And, 'where is the treasure from your days of merriment?'
You must say, within your own eyes, now sunk deep in their sockets,
Where lies a shameful confession of greed and self-obsession.
If you would have only put your beauty to a greater use,
If only you could answer 'This fair child of mine
Shall give an account of my life and prove that I made no misuse of my time on earth.'
Proving that his beauty, because he is your son, was once yours!
    This child would be new-made when you are old,
   And you would see your own blood flow warm through him when you are cold.

EXPLANATION

1. When forty winters shall besiege thy brow,

besiege = lay siege to. A term from warfare. Forty winters (forty years) when added to the young man's present age, would make him about 60. At such an age he would have many wrinkles, although it is generally reckoned that in Elizabethan times, owing to dietary inadequacies and disease, people aged much more rapidly, and even a forty year old could be deemed to have reached old age. So the poet could be referring to the youth as he might be when he reaches forty.

2. And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,

dig deep trenches The besieging army would dig trenches to undermine the city's walls. But the reference may also be to furrows dug in a field when ploughing.

3. Thy youth's proud livery so gazed on now,

livery = uniform worn by servants in a nobleman's house. It could be quite sumptuous, if the nobleman wished to make a show of wealth.

4. Will be a totter'd weed of small worth held:

totter'd weed = a tattered garment. Tottered is an old spelling of tattered. weeds - often refers to clothing in Shakespeare.

5. Then being asked, where all thy beauty lies,

being asked = if you were to be asked; in the future, when you might be asked. 
 lies = is; is buried; is hidden.

6. Where all the treasure of thy lusty days;

lusty days = the days of youthful exuberance; days of lustful behaviour. Note that treasure contains a sexual innuendo, implying sexual parts, or semen, depending on context. Compare:
  .....................treasure thou some place
With beauty's treasure, ere it be self-kill'd. 6
Will will fulfil the treasure of thy love, 136

7. To say, within thine own deep sunken eyes,

to say = to reply (to the question posed in the two lines above). 
within thine own deep sunken eyes - the treasure of days long gone would show nothing surviving other than hollow eyes, caused by the process of ageing. Possibly also a hinted reference to the supposed effect of sexual excess (too much masturbation?).

8. Were an all-eating shame, and thriftless praise.

all-eating shame = a shame which devours all sense of right and decorum. thriftless praise = praise which produces no result or advantage. A praise of yourself which is clearly misplaced and damaging to you. 
  thriftless = showing no sense of thrift, or economy.

9. How much more praise deserv'd thy beauty's use,

thy beauty's use = the use which you make of your beauty, the profit you derive from it.

6-9. Undoubtedly a sexual meaning to these lines, especially in treasure of thy lusty days, thy beauty's use. (See notes above) The youth is accused of expending his sexual energy upon himself, with the concomitant result of shame, exhaustion, sunken eyes and failure to point to any lasting result. See extended discussion of SonnetI

10. If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine

If you could reply in response to their questions, 'This child of mine, etc., etc.'

11. Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse,'

sum my count = add up the balance sheet of my life; probably a bawdy pun on count, pronounced cunt. Hence, 'give a reckoning for all the cunts I have enjoyed'. 
make my old excuse = justify my life when I am an old man; or, satisfy the arguments advanced of old, that I should produce heirs; or make my habitual, frequently repeated excuse. Shakespeare uses old in this sense in Macbeth: 
If a man were a porter of hell-gate, he should have old turning the key. Mac.II.3.2-3.

12. Proving his beauty by succession thine!

Proving, by his beauty, that he succeeds you as an heir to your beauty. proving also has the meaning of 'testing, trying out' which may be relevant here.

13. This were to be new made when thou art old,

This were to be new made = this would be as if you were being newly created.

14. And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

Cold and freezing blood was thought to be the traditional accompaniment of old age. The message of the couplet is that a child made in his image would invigorate and effectively renew him when he reached old age. His blood would flow warm in his veins again.