Sin of self-love possesseth all mine eye
And all my soul, and all my every part;
And for this sin there is no remedy,
It is so grounded inward in my heart.
Methinks no face so gracious is as mine,
No shape so true, no truth of such account;
And for myself mine own worth do define,
As I all other in all worths surmount.
But when my glass shows me myself indeed
Beated and chopp’d with tanned antiquity,
Mine own self-love quite contrary I read;
Self so self-loving were iniquity.
     ‘Tis thee, myself, that for myself I praise,
     Painting my age with beauty of thy days.

Analysis

Sonnet 62 explores themes of self-love and seeing the love in yourself– is there really a difference?

Billy admits he is extremely vain person, proud both of his outward form and personality. This sin, furthermore, is so deeply rooted that he believes it can’t ever be removed. However, upon seeing his face in the mirror, it disgusts him. Surely loving such a face would be a sin. In fact, the thing Billy truly loves about himself is his possession of the youth; his beauty is derived from the part of the young man he possesses.
 

Will’s Wordplay

“chopped with tanned antiquity” describes Billy’s face as scarred, wrinkled (like tanned leather).

“painting my age” could also refer either to gilding an aged countenance with associations to a younger handsomer man, to verbal descriptions, (word paintings), or to the use of cosmetics. The entire couplet may be paraphrased: “I praise myself, because in doing so I praise you, as if painting myself in colors borrowed from you”’.

Alma Mater Statue, Columbia University

Alma Mater is the name given to a sculpture of the goddess Athena by Daniel Chester French on the outdoor steps leading to Low Memorial Library on the campus of Columbia University in New York City. Installed in 1904 and donated in memory of alumnus Robert Goelet of the Class of 1860 by his wife, Harriette W. Goelet, Alma Mater has become a symbol of the university and a repository of its lore.

An owl is hidden in the folds of Alma Mater’s cloak near her left leg, a symbol of knowledge and learning, and college superstition has it that the first member of the incoming class to find the owl will become class valedictorian. The legend at another time was that any Columbia student who found the owl on his first try would marry a girl from Barnard.

In the 1960s and 70s, the radical leftist group the Weather Underground planned to blow up the statue, but these plans were shelved after the group managed to blow much of itself up inside a Greenwich Village rowhouse instead. [1]

References

1. Richman, Michael, Daniel Chester French: An American Sculptor (The Preservation Press, 1976, reprinted 1983), pp. 90–96: discussion of the commission, creation and installation of the sculpture.

ACTOR – Michael Markham

Michael Markham is a Actor/Filmmaker based out of New York City. As an actor his favorite roles in New York include Platonov in The Spectacular Demise of Platonov at Shapiro Theater; Giant in Giants at HERE; and The Singing Soldier in Mother Courage and Her Children at The New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park. He is a current member of Lunar Energy Productions and the New York Madness Acting Company.

Film and television include Law and Order; Unearthed, which has played at The Tallahassee and Macon Film Festivals; Game Theory at the Festivus and Bare Bones Film Festivals; and Blind Date, which aired on BET.

Regionally he has performed in A Little Night Music, Hamlet, the title role in Julius Caesar, and The Ibsen Project: A Lonely Light.

He is an award winning filmmaker having directed and produced numerous short films through his production company KiteMonkey Productions including, Pinecone, Jake’s Dilemma, Lies, and the upcoming, Fumes.

Michael grew up in Montpelier, VT but has lived in 7 different states throughout his life. He currently resides in Central Harlem with his wife, Karen, daugher, Claire, and their 2 cats. He graduated from the Julliard School Drama Division, and has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Acting from Washington University in St. Louis.

Michael is also an avid photographer, and supporter of arts education through an organization called ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty). Look them up at www.asteponline.org Through ASTEP Michael has taught drama to kids in camps from Bronxville, to Florida, to South Africa. His photography has been seen at 1359 Broadway in the summer of 2010 and on the side of 410 West 40th St. in October of 2011.

DIRECTOR – Michael Markham

Michael Markham is a Actor/Filmmaker based out of New York City. As an actor his favorite roles in New York include Platonov in The Spectacular Demise of Platonov at Shapiro Theater; Giant in Giants at HERE; and The Singing Soldier in Mother Courage and Her Children at The New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park. He is a current member of Lunar Energy Productions and the New York Madness Acting Company.

Film and television include Law and Order; Unearthed, which has played at The Tallahassee and Macon Film Festivals; Game Theory at the Festivus and Bare Bones Film Festivals; and Blind Date, which aired on BET.

Regionally he has performed in A Little Night Music, Hamlet, the title role in Julius Caesar, and The Ibsen Project: A Lonely Light.

He is an award winning filmmaker having directed and produced numerous short films through his production company KiteMonkey Productions including, Pinecone, Jake’s Dilemma, Lies, and the upcoming, Fumes.

Michael grew up in Montpelier, VT but has lived in 7 different states throughout his life. He currently resides in Central Harlem with his wife, Karen, daugher, Claire, and their 2 cats. He graduated from the Julliard School Drama Division, and has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Acting from Washington University in St. Louis.

Michael is also an avid photographer, and supporter of arts education through an organization called ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty). Look them up at www.asteponline.org Through ASTEP Michael has taught drama to kids in camps from Bronxville, to Florida, to South Africa. His photography has been seen at 1359 Broadway in the summer of 2010 and on the side of 410 West 40th St. in October of 2011.

MAKE-UP ARTIST – Chelsea Paige

Chelsea Paige MUA is a NY Metro Special FX -Hair- Makeup Artist. Recent grad of Makeup Designory, she has a love for film and projecting characters to help stories be told to their fullest extent. Chelsea works in all areas of makeup and loves each one equally. She hopes to keep working with film and build herself as an artist in every possible way she can.

DP – Robert Manning Jr.

Robert is a graduate of the University of Washington’s Professional Acting Training Program, MFA. Television: Southland, The Unit, Criminal Minds. Film: Frogtown, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Theatre – Broadway: Magic/Bird. Regional: Sterling in Two Trains Running, Cassio in Othello, Banquo in Macbeth. 2008 NAACP Theatre Award Nomination: Defiance – Pasadena Playhouse. 2010 NAACP Theatre Award Nomination: Battle Hymn – Ford Theatre. 2012 NAACP Theatre Award Win: Blues for an Alabama Sky – Pasadena Playhouse. Robert recently completed the original production of How I Learned to Become a Superhero. For more information and full credits, please visit robertmanningjr.com.

GAFFER – Brian Kazmarck

Brian Kazmarck is an award-winning film director whose films have played both in the United States and internationally. His latest short film, The Portland Empire, played at the 2012 Cannes Short Corner and was sold to Shorts International U.K. He most recently completed his debut feature, Terminal Legacy, which premiered at the 2012 Big Apple Film Festival. He is the owner of Open Fire Films, LLC.

CREW – Meredith Witte

Meredith Witte is a creative producer based in NYC. Originally from Texas, she’s spent the last 10 years producing TV commercials and content for clients like Walmart, Expedia, Comcast, Exxon, Sprint, and Google. When not helping Michael with passion projects, she enjoys pilates and horseback riding.

CREW – Matthew Minnicino

Matthew Isaac Minnicino hails from the small town of Leesburg, Virginia, a sort of Mecca for Civil War Trivia fiends. He is currently playing the role of a Graduate Student at Columbia University under the tutelage of Charles L. Mee and Kelly Stuart. From a little hole in upper Manhattan, he writes plays and makes theatre happen sometimes. His plays include Troy is Burning (a goat song), Persephone, Friend of the People, Marvellous. Matt, masquerading as a professional Colleague-Worth-Having, has been working with Northern Virginia’s Empty Chair Theatre since 2008 as actor and Literary Associate, and co-founded Washington D.C.’s Idly Bent Theatre Company with Anne Haney in 2012, for which he acts as Literary Manager and Playwright-at-Large. Matt can fit into a television set.