Sonnet 73 Metaphors - 1165 Words

In William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Sonnet 73,† the speaker claims that through recognizing life’s brevity, love can be made stronger, and more permanent, by learning to appreciate the limited time each person has left. Shakespeare establishes this argument by developing three metaphors comparing a succinct amount of time to life. The first metaphor compares the seasons of a year to stages of life. The second quatrain contains the next metaphor comparing the sun’s journey across the sky to the speaker’s lifetime. And the final metaphor, found in the third quatrain, compares the glow of a fire to a lifetime. Shakespeare’s choice of applying shorter periods of time being compared to the speaker’s lifetime emphasizes the brevity of a person’s life. In†¦show more content†¦The tone strengthens the metaphor in this quatrain through adding emphasis that the speaker is still reminiscing about what he has lost and has yet to look towards what the future holds. The speaker starts the second quatrain, again, telling the listener to witness in him the approach of old age. The extended metaphor in the second quatrain compares the suns journey across the sky to the speaker’s lifetime. The speaker tells the listener that they can see â€Å"the twilight of such day, as after sunset fadeth in the west†, or the aging of the speaker after the brightness and energy of his youth have started to fade just like the sun does as it approaches the end of its journey. The speaker continues with â€Å"which by and by black night doth take away†, â€Å"black night† signifying old age taking away what little remains of the speaker’s youthfulness, and the eventual passing away of the speaker. A shift in tone occurs here from somber to one of forlorn as the speaker recognises that he will eventually die. The speaker finishes the metaphor by explicitly saying the dark of night represents â€Å"Death’s second self, that s eals all up in rest.† Night in the metaphor seals up all in eternal rest through death. The rhyme between â€Å"day† and â€Å"away† draws attention to the number of days the speaker has left are diminishing. The image of the diminishing number of days builds on the depressed tone already expressed in the quatrain by emphasizing the certainty ofShow MoreRelated Essay on Metaphors for Death in Shakespeares Sonnet 73543 Words   |  3 PagesMetaphors for Death in Shakespeares Sonnet 73 William Shakespeares 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. Shakespeares 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 theRead MoreThe Time Of Year By Shakespeare761 Words   |  4 Pagesof Year,† is one of the many sonnets that Shakespeare wrote. It is also known as â€Å"Sonnet 73†. â€Å"In Western literary traditions, sonnets have played an important role because of the works of authors such as Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) and William Shakespeare,† (Weagly, 2016). â€Å"The Time of Year† (Sonnet 73) by William Shakespeare, conveys the theme that the idea of losing someone could create a stronger feeling of love while they are living h ere on Earth. All sonnets are written in a specific patternRead MoreEssay on Nature in Shakespeares Sonnets1731 Words   |  7 PagesNature in Shakespeare’s Sonnets In Shakespeare’s fair youth Sonnets, the speaker uses imagery and metaphors from nature to describe man’s life cycle. While reading the Sonnets, it may seem at first that the main point of the Sonnets is that life’s purpose is to reproduce. However, after reading the fair youth Sonnets, it becomes clear that imagery from nature is used to prove that death is inevitable and should be accepted. The fair youth Sonnets are ordered in a specific way to resemble theRead More Metaphorically Speaking – Sonnet 73 Essays857 Words   |  4 PagesSpeaking – Sonnet 73  Ã‚      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 Shakespeares Sonnet 73. The metaphor is the most basic device poets use to convey meanings beyond literal speech (Guth 473). Shakespeares use of metaphors in this sonnet conveys his theme of the inescapable aging process. Shakespeare establishes and extends a metaphor that illuminatesRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Sonnet 73902 Words   |  4 Pagesin me behold† (Sonnet 73) The sonnet, originating in Italy, was formed by Francesco Petrarch. The Petrarchan sonnet, originally consisting of two quatrains and a couplet, was soon brought to England where William Shakespeare took an interest in this unknown form of poetry. Shakespeare revised the sonnet so it consisted of three quatrains with the rhyming scheme of â€Å"abab cdcd efef† and a rhyming couplet at the end. This revised sonnet was then referred to as a Shakespearean sonnet. Shakespeare wroteRead More The Death of Creative Power in Sonnet 73 Essay1072 Words   |  5 PagesThe Death of Creative Power in Sonnet 73nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; 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 asRead More Essay on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73799 Words   |  4 PagesInterpretation of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73 nbsp; 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 goodRead MoreExplication Of Sonnet 731713 Words   |  7 Pageswell known writer in the British literary community and his pieces are still read and enjoyed today. Shakespeare is also known to have written a collection of poems which are sonnets. This essay will consist of a close reading to William Shakespeare’s sonnet 73 which deals with the theme of life, death and aging. The sonnet constructs a complex idea that the themes of life and death can be connected together. The poem contains three quatrains and one couplet. The poem has an iambic pentameter andRead MoreSonnet 73 And A Valediction : Forbidding Mourning1647 Words   |  7 PagesSonnet 73 and A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning explores the ideas regarding love and the death, although, it can be argued, that these ideas are portrayed in different ways. Sonnet 73 exhibits the notion of death through the natural act of ageing. As well as, highlighting death through ageing, Shakespeare highlights death through pastoral elements such as seasons of the year. However, A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning puts forth the idea regarding love through figurative language, metaphors andRead MoreEssay on The Sonnet Genre Combining with Figurative Language1904 Words   |  8 PagesThe 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)