Sonnet 99

Interesting to note from the outset, that structurally this poem isn't a true sonnet, and the reader can certainly inquire as to whether or not this was intentional done to convey some meaning, an accident, or just an instance of discarding the form in order to say something Shakespeare felt couldn't be omitted. Regardless, this poem again is a prime example of Shakespeare being a pioneer in the realm of poetry. It is a common poetic tactic to compare one's subject to beautiful and desirable things, in an effort to convey their beauty. Shakespeare twists this concept and instead personifies these beautiful things as thieves, usurpers of the beautiful qualities they now possess. In various examples Shakespeare says that the red of roses, the smell, and the beauty of other flowers were all qualities first of the young man, and have been mimicked and stolen away. The poem is ended with the statement that all flowers have stolen their qualities from the young man, and in this way Shakespeare concludes his pioneering commentary on the common subject of beautiful people.