Sonnet · Life
Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore
by William Shakespeare · 1609
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
Crooked eclipses 'gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty's brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
And yet to times in hope, my verse shall stand.
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
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“Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore” by William Shakespeare — quilloak.com/poems/sonnet-60
Quick facts
- Poem
- Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore
- Poet
- William Shakespeare
- Published
- 1609
- Length
- 14 lines
- Form
- Sonnet
- Themes
- Life, Death & Loss, Love
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 14 lines · one 14-line stanza
- Line length
- Mostly 10-syllable lines (pentameter length).
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- William Shakespeare1564–1616
- Source record
- PoetryDBSonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore by william-shakespeare, PoetryDB transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1609
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 003224381f732119…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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