Death is the inevitable and unavoidable conclusion to life. Every human being in the phase of this planet is born with a death sentence. Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 73” tackles the theme of aging and death with an aging speaker who compares his late life to late autumn or early winter. The speaker goes on to explain to his loved one that he/she must express his/her love to him more than ever, as death is upon him. The song “When I Get Where I’m Going”performed by Brad Paisley also tackles the theme of
Shakespeare's Sonnet #73, published in 1609, is written in the Shakespearean or English sonnet style. It consists of three quatrains and one couplet at the end, written in iambic pentameters. Each quatrain has its own rhyme scheme, rhyming in alternating lines. The couplet summarizes the preceding twelve lines. Sonnet 73 appears to contain multiple parallels to death and the person speaking in the poem gives the impression that he is near death and reflecting back upon life. The first quatrain, “That
Metaphorically Speaking – Sonnet 73 Love is a blanket of bright and colorful flowers that covers a beautifully rolling meadow on a breezy summer day. Similar metaphorical images appear in many famous poems including Shakespeare's "Sonnet 73." The metaphor is the most basic device poets use to convey meanings beyond literal speech (Guth 473). Shakespeare's use of metaphors in this sonnet conveys his theme of the inescapable aging process. Shakespeare "establishes and extends a metaphor that
[Line 1]* - 'that time of year' being late autumn or early winter. [Line 2]* - Compare the line to Macbeth (5.3.23) "my way of life/is fall'n into the sere, the yellow leaf". [Line 4]* - 'Bare ruin'd choirs' is a reference to the remains of a church or, more specifically, a chancel, stripped of its roof and exposed to the elements. The choirs formerly rang with the sounds of 'sweet birds'. Some argue that lines 3 and 4 should be read without pause -- the 'yellow leaves' shake against the 'cold/Bare
An Analysis of Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare is widely read and studied. But what is Shakespeare trying to say? Though it seems there will not be a simple answer, for a better understanding of Shakespeare's Sonnet 73, this essay offers an explication of the sonnet from The Norton Anthology of English Literature: That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare
Interpretation of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73 Sonnet 73 is a meditation on mortality, and yet it can be interpreted in a number of ways. The first such interpretation is that the author of the poem is speaking to someone else about his own death that will inevitably come in the future. This interpretation has the poem focused on the author, and his focus and concern over himself. This makes him seem very selfish, because we are all going to die sooner or later, and it does not do any good to dwell
Comparison of Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 and Sonnet 116 William Shakespeare, in his Sonnet 73 and Sonnet 116, sets forth his vision of the unchanging, persistent and immovable nature of true love. According to Shakespeare, love is truly "till death do us part," and possibly beyond. Physical infirmity, the ravages of age, or even one's partner's inconstancy have no effect upon the affections of one who sincerely loves. His notion of love is not a romantic one in which an
Throughout William Shakespeare 's Sonnet 73, there is a consistent theme. The theme is of impending death and the nature that Shakespeare is aging. In the poem, it seems that he is talking to a younger man and explaining what it is like to grow old. It also seems that he is trying desperately to hang on to his youth. He uses different metaphors throughout the sonnet to relate to the way he is aging and moving fiercely towards death. The different ways he describes the way he is aging and the death
Eroticism and Mortality in Shakespeare's Sonnet #73 William Shakespeare's sonnet cycle is famous with its rich metaphorical style. The depth of each sonnet comes from its multilayered meanings and images, which are reinforced by its structure, sound, and rhythm. Sonnet #73 provides an excellent example. This sonnet shows the speaker's agony over human mortality and, moreover, his/her way of coping with it in an effective way. The speaker, especially in terms of his cognizance of time, experiences
Shakespeare’s Sonnets 12 and 73 William Shakespeare (1564-1616) wrote a group of 154 sonnets between 1592 and 1597, which were compiled and published under the title 'Shakespeare's Sonnets' in 1609. The 154 poems are divided into two groups, a larger set, consisting of sonnets 1-126 which are addressed by the poet to a dear young man, the smaller group of sonnets 127-154 address another persona, a 'dark lady'. The larger set of sonnets display a deliberate sequence, a sonnet cycle akin to
Metaphors for Death in Shakespeare's Sonnet 73 William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 73: That Time of Year Thou Mayest in Me Behold" is a sonnet that examines the fears and anxieties that surround growing old and dying -- a topic that resonates within us all. Shakespeare's use of metaphor to illustrate decay and passing are striking, and sets a somber tone throughout. He uses the season of Fall, the coming of night, and the burning out of a flame as metaphors for old age and death, and then uses the
Acceptance of Loss of Time in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73 and Keats’s When I have Fears that I May Cease to Be Time spent fearing the passage of time wastes the very thing that one dreads losing. Both Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 73" and Keats’s "When I have Fears that I May Cease to Be" reveal the irrationality of this fear and explore different interpretations of this theme: to Keats death equates an inability to reach his potential, to accomplish what he desires; to Shakespeare death (represented in
In Sonnet #73, William Shakespeare uses death to demonstrate that one day whether we like it or not we will grow old and eventually pass. Shakespeare speaks about life and how it all ends; he also speaks of the pressure we have to deal with the fact that no matter what happens we all come to an end. Shakespeare shows how the human body loves to the fullest because you never know what can happen tomorrow. He approaches these feelings by the use of images, in resemblance to death and the time passing
One of the poems that William Shakespeare wrote is called “That time of year thou mayst in me behold.” It is also known as William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73. This Sonnet is viewed as being comprised of metaphors, which capture the struggle of life. Life in which there is an end to everything but beauty within it. The speaker within this poem is one that reflects on his life and how nature is closely connected with his journey. In order to understand the theme of the poem, the reader must first recognize
In “Sonnet 73” William Shakespeare uses seasonal and fire imagery symbolically, as well as metaphors to portray the process of aging. Introduction “Sonnet 73,” published by William Shakespeare in 1609, reveals through symbolic imagery and metaphors mans promised fate, death. The theme of “Sonnet 73” is that, as life draws to an end, it becomes more valued. In a melancholy mood, the narrator concedes that many years have passed by and that the end of his life draws ever near. He reflects through
Sonnet 73 is about a speaker who is trying to break it gently to his beloved the news that he’s going to die, that he’s in the last stages of his life, the fall of his life, and that the beloved, the loved one, will have to go on alone. He starts out this way: “That time of year thou may’st in me behold When yellow leaves or none, or few, do hang Upon these boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.” So he’s saying to his beloved that (s)he will see
Death of Creative Power in Sonnet 73 Most of the 127 sonnets Shakespeare wrote to one of his close male friends are united by the theme of the overwhelming, destructive power of time, and the counterbalancing power of love and poetry to create and preserve beauty. Sonnet 73 is no different, but it does present an intriguing twist on this theme. Most of these sonnets address the youth and beauty of his male friend, as well as poetry's power to immortalize them, but number 73 addresses the author's own
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73 uses figurative language, specifically metaphors, to express the individual sentiments and experience of the speaker about the end of his life. The poem is quite individualistic, not describing death in general, but describing the specific journey of the speaker. The speaker is not just describing death as an eventual end, but as a very real and very near occurrence. There are three metaphors used in the poem, one metaphor per quatrain. Each metaphor describes a particular
The Sonnet Genre Combining with Figurative Language Compare how the conventions of the sonnet genre combine with figurative language to create meaning in at least two texts. Originating in Italy, the sonnet was established by Petrarch in the 14th century as a major form of love poetry, and came to be adopted in England in the 16th century (Oxford Literary terms). Overtime there have been different types of sonnets written, for example the Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet, the English (Shakespearean)
William Shakespeare 's 'Sonnet 73 ' highlights the continuous anxiety; of speaker the due to the inevitability of old age. Through various poetic techniques Shakespeare underlines that the deterioration of time is arbitrary; and it therefore naturally decays beauty and life. However there is a sense that he expresses love as a stronger force which overcomes the constant decline of youth and time. This is strongly represented by the use of seasonal imagery. Similarly, John Donne utilizes formal aspects