Play Sonnet 101
O truant Muse what shall be thy amends
For thy neglect of truth in beauty dyed?
Both truth and beauty on my love depends;
So dost thou too, and therein dignified.
Make answer Muse: wilt thou not haply say,
‘Truth needs no colour, with his colour fixed;
Beauty no pencil, beauty’s truth to lay;
But best is best, if never intermixed’?
Because he needs no praise, wilt thou be dumb?
Excuse not silence so, for’t lies in thee
To make him much outlive a gilded tomb
And to be praised of ages yet to be.
Then do thy office, Muse; I teach thee how
To make him seem, long hence, as he shows now.
Analysis
Sonnet 101 sees the poet continue the chastisement of the Muse begun in an earlier sonnet.
Billy asks the Muse how she will make up.for her absence and neglect of praise for the fair youth. Truth, beauty, and indeed the Muse herself depend on him. The invisible Muse is imagined to answer by saying that truth and beauty need no additions or explanations. Billy thinks such silence is inexcusable, and denies the young man an immortality in art. He commands her to do her job, and offers to teach her how to immortalize the youth’s beauty, exactly as it is today.
Will’s Wordplay
The idea behind lines 6-7 seems to spring as much from the use of cosmetics (and Willy’s dislike of it, noted in several other sonnets) as from the art of painting. A fair face needs no cosmetics, it already has its own color and appearance. In the same way truth needs no additional coloring, since it has its own.
Gilt decoration was frequently used on tombstones in churches and on effigies of the wealthy dead. Bill suggests, as he does elsewhere, that a more fitting monument would be his own poetry which will immortalize the youth. Seems like its working, Bill!
Confucious Plaza, China Town, Manhattan
“Built in 1976, this brown brick tower complex in Chinatown was the first major public-funded housing project built for Chinese use. The 44-story arc contains 762 apartments, the Yung Wing Public School, P.S. 124 (K-8), shops, community space and a day-care center. One of the most frequently visited landmarks in Chinatown is the 15-foot bronze statue of Confucius, the Chinese philosopher, in front of the complex. Sculpted by Liu Shih, the statue was presented by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association as a token of appreciation, and to commemorate the U.S. bicentennial. At its base, a Confucian proverb is inscribed aside an American Flag, praising a just government with remarkable leaders of wisdom and ability.” — Lindsay Damast, New York Magazine
Confucious Statue
Patrons of all nationalities and ethnicities can be found meditating in front of the statue, oblivious to the hectic city bustle surrounding them. The inscription is Confuscious’ “The Chapter of Great Harmony” in English and Chinese.
References
ACTOR – Jennifer Lim
A native of Hong Kong, Jennifer Lim now resides and works out of NYC. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree from Bristol University in the U.K., she attended the Yale School of Drama for her MFA in Acting. She is a “half & half” (half Chinese half Korean) who speaks Cantonese and Mandarin fluently… and, when the need arises, enough Korean to warm a plate of japchae.
To broaden her international exposure and qualify for a US Artist Green card, which she has now received, Jennifer has taken many opportunities to work abroad over the last few years.
In London, she played the lead role, to rave reviews, in In-Sook Chappell’s Verity Bargate Award winning This Isn’t Romance, directed by Soho Theatre’s former Artistic Director Lisa Goldman. In Shanghai and at the Grotowski Theatre Festival in Wroclaw, she received high praise for her portrayal of Ophelia (performed in Mandarin) in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, adapted and directed by the much-lauded Richard Schechner.
She also toured extensively in Europe with Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven as a member of the Young Jean Lee Theater Co., performing at numerous theatres and festivals, including the Vienna Fesitval, the Hannover Theaterformen Festival (Germany), Zurich Theaterspektakel Festival, the Hebbel Theater (Berlin), the Kaaitheater (Brussels), the International Arts Festival of Castilla y Leon (Salamanca, Spain), Theatre Garonne (Toulouse), and in Norway – the Teaterhuset Avant Garden (Trondheim), the Black Box Teater (Oslo) and the Teater Garasjen (Bergen).
Back in the United States, Jennifer made her Broadway debut starring in David Henry Hwang’s Chinglish, for which she earned: a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut, the IASNY Trophy for Excellence, and a Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Play. She was also named “Most Exciting Broadway Newcomer” in New York Magazine’s 2011 Culture Awards. Jennifer has also worked in many professional and prominent downtown NYC and regional theaters. In addition, she has helped develop new works at the Lark Play Development Center, New Georges, Pan Asian Rep, East Coast Artists, Mabou Mines, Reverie Productions, New Dramatists, Ensemble Studio Theater, Cherry Lane Theater, Second Generation and Ma-Yi Theater Co.
Television and film credits include appearances on Blue Bloods (CBS), Law & Order (NBC), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), Royal Pains (USA), Dirty Sexy Money (ABC), Guiding Light (CBS), As The World Turns (CBS), The Savages, 27 Dresses and various shorts.
Jennifer is a member of Actor’s Equity Association (AEA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).
 
DIRECTOR – Chris Carroll
“Rock stars, CEOs, and toddlers have a lot in common,” says Chris Carroll, who has shot many of each during his 25-year career. “They all have high needs and a short attention span.” Chris started fast, shooting celebrity editorial for the likes of SPIN, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and GQ while still in his twenties. He went on to work for numerous national magazines and advertising clients, and continues to hone his wryly observed style of portraiture. The shift to digital has meant that Chris has the darkroom of his dreams right there in the Mac on his desk. Since moving out of Tribeca September 1st, 2001, he and his family have lived in the charming village of Nyack, twenty miles up the Hudson from Manhattan. Chris has developed a keen eye for the hidden stories in suburbia, with revealing insights into such subjects as the babysitter’s rock band, the local volunteer fire department, and the high school football team. His portraits capture the dualities in his subjects, showing both their ready-for-prime-time faces, and the grace and pathos that lie hidden beneath.
Chris is married to the writer Liz Mechem Carroll; they have two daughters. In 2007, they cowrote Legends of Country, an affectionate paean to America’s great native art form: country music. In 2009, Hammond published Disasters at Sea, the second book co-written by the Carrolls. The couple continue to collaborate on literary, domestic, and film projects. Chris is currently Creative Director of Lightbox Nyack, a multimedia studio and school of digital arts.