How did Shakespeare try to immortalize his Friend W.H.?

Like as the Waves 

In most of the sonnets, Shakespeare referred to his friend a Mr. W.H. though his friend’s Identity is not cleared anywhere that whoever he may be. He might be Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, or Sir Philipp Sydney’s nephew, William Herbert, third Earl of Pembroke.

Shakespeare is talking about the same friend W.H. in Like as The Waves. In the sonnet, the poet is saying that his verse in praise of his friend will make him, immortal despite the cruel hands of time. This poem seems inspired by Golding’s translation of Ovid’s 

Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,

The very first opening line of the sonnet is introduced with the applied figure of speech simile. Where the poet compares the lives with the waves that come out of from the bottom of the sea and end at the shore.

So do our minutes hasten to their end;

In the second line, the poet said in his positive agreement format that the same way our lives within time continue and end. 

Each changing place with that, which goes before,

He says that nothing has a permanent place in this universe a thing comes and another takes its place after some time. 

In sequent toil, all forwards do contend.

A person in his life span works so hard to achieve the things that he desired all his life and he is feeling satisfied.

Nativity, once in the main of light,

The word nativity refers here to the birth when someone bore and become aware of his life.   

Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,

A person in his life after birth slowly grows, learns, achieves, and sometimes fails. Sometimes times award him with achievements.

Crooked elipses ’gainst his glory fight,

Time has its own way to perform its duty. The poet says that some bad planets with bad effects can hard and destroy a person‘s life. He has to face various obstacles during his lifetime.

And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.

A time comes in everyone’s life when he feels confused himself. Nobody can understand the ways of life and the way time plays a role in our lives.

Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth

It was time itself that gave us youth and now the time is taking it back. Time is always a continuous process that never stops and never ends.

And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,

At a time the beauty of youth goes away and we become old and ugly with wrinkle everywhere on face same like earth looks when we delve it with plow. 

Rhyme Scheme: abab, cdcd, efef, gg 

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