Sonnet 12

When I do count the clock that tells the time,

当我数着钟声，知道时间，

And see the brave day sunk in hideous night；

看那白昼沉入可怕的夜晚；

When I behold the violet past prime,

当我看见紫罗兰过了盛开期，

And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white:

头发银白，覆着一层白霜：

When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,

看那高大的树木叶子凋零，

Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,

曾经遮蔽群兽的烈日炎炎，

And summer's green, all girded up in sheaves,

夏日绿意，被束成捆束，

Born on the bier with white and bristly beard；

像是裹着白须的棺材里诞生；

Then of thy beauty do I question make,

那么我对你美丽的容颜产生疑问，

That thou among the wastes of time must go,

你为何在时间的荒原中消逝，

Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake,

因为甜蜜与美丽自行凋谢，

And die as fast as they see others grow；

随着他人成长而快速消亡。

Sonnet 18

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day？

我能否把你比作夏天？

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

你比夏天更可爱，也更温和；

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

狂风吹拂着五月的娇嫩花蕾，

And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

夏日的租期又太过短暂；

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

天空有时过于炽热，

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd；

常使自身的辉煌无故湮没；

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

每一种美都会消逝，

By chance, or nature's changing course untrimm'd；

不管愿意或是无奈；

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

但你永恒的夏日永不褪色，

Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest；

也不失去你所拥有的美貌；

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

-死神也无法夸口你在他的阴影中徘徊，

When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

当你永恒的诗篇与时间同长：

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

只要人们还能呼吸，眼睛还能看见，

So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

这诗就永存，并赋予你生命。

这些诗句展现了莎士比亚对爱情和美的深刻感悟，通过自然景象和季节变化来比喻所爱之人的美丽和永恒。