A Comparison Between Shakespeares Sonnet 73 And

A Comparison Between Shakespeare?s Sonnet 73 And Essay, Research Paper

William Shakespeare, who lived during the second half of the 16th century and the early 17th century, wrote sonnets 73 and 12, both fourteen-line poems written to an anonymous lover. Similarly, the sonnets discuss the themes of time, love, and finally death. Both sonnets use ABAB rhyme, meaning that the first line rhymes with the third, whilst the second line rhymes with the fourth, etc. Both use an iambic pentametre, or the rhythm of the poem, using a weak, strong rhythm, imitating the passing of time. Also, both sonnets contain 10 syllables in each line. Sonnet 73 uses 3 sets of 4 lines to separate the poem, summarising the poem with two lines at the end. The theme of the sonnet is that love is stronger than time and decay, but does not survive death. The iambic pentameters signify the passing of time, and therefore the writer´s life, showing that the writer is nearing the grave and can´t possibly stop the time from passing. In this sonnet, the poet compares himself to three different things, the first being autumn:

“That time of year thou mayst in me behold

When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang”

“thou”, a less formal way to say “you”, represents the love of the writer´s life. The poem takes place in the autumn of his life. The caesurae, pauses in a line of poetry, in line 2, slow down the pace of the poem, representing the slow speech of an elderly man. There is a comparison between “hang” in line 2, which describes the present (autumn), and “sang”, the summer. This contrast shows the stages of the man´s life. The word “boughs”, bare branches, also implies that it is autumn. The enjambement, no pause at the end of a line, in the poem shows the continuation of time.

The metaphor “ruin´d choirs” in line 4, can have two possible meanings in this poem- Firstly, it can mean the tree, which in summer birds had sung on, but the bringing of autumn took the life from the tree. Secondly, the ruined choir can represent the monasteries, which were burnt down during the Reformation during the 16th century, and shows lack of praise and harmony. The words “twilight of such day”, in line 5, the beginning of the second quatrain, represents the evening of the writer´s life. “Sunset fadeth” explains how once the sun has gone down, all he has to look forward to is darkness and death.

“Which by and by black night doth take away”. The alliteration of the letter b, emphasises the fact that evening is becoming night, and making you more aware that there is a relentless passing of time. “Death´s second self” explains that night is the death of every day and all that he has to look forward to is eternal sleep. This line uses alliteration of the letter s, a gentle sound, which reflects what the poet is talking about. In this quatrain, the writer compares himself to darkness, as darkness represents the end of his life. In the third quatrain, the writer compares himself to “fire”.

“In me thou seest the glowing of such fire

That on the ashes of his youth doth lie”

He explains that he is like a fire going out. The ashes symbolise the fire (youth) disappearing. The ashes compare to the things that used to energise him, which now, in fact, wear him down. The writer predicts his own death and that he will die in his own bed.

“As on the death-bed whereon it must expire”.

It, which represents him is nearing death and foresees his death. The final two lines,

“This thou perceiv´st which makes thy love more strong,