Of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets, several...
Of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets, several deal with the themes of aging and finding hope in children. "This fair child of mine/Shall sum my count and make my old excuse," he writes in one. Another ends with this couplet: "And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defense/Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence." One can "see thy blood warm" against the "barren rage of death's eternal cold," when one looks to the children. Simeon and Anna saw in the baby Jesus the fulfillment of their hopes; and not just their own personal hopes, but also "the consolation of Israel ...