60.4k views
5 votes
What is the meaning of the phrase “unfair which fairly doth excel” as it is used in Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 5”?

User HighAley
by
7.7k points

1 Answer

7 votes
This line is referring to the fact that time takes beauty away from everything. Unfair in this context is the act of taking away beauty -- instead of being fair (beautiful), that thing has become "unfair" (losing its beauty). Even things that 'excel' in beauty will become unfair in time. 
User Brad Baskin
by
7.6k points