SONNET 73
William
Shakespeare
That time
of year thou may'st in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day,
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by-and-by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day,
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by-and-by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
Shakespeare, William. “Sonnet 73.” Shakespeare Online. 4 Nov. 2014. Web. http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/73.html
William Shakespeare’s 73rd sonnet, one of his
most famous, is a rebellion against death and the mortality of all men.
Although it is not as overt as Dylan Thomas’s “Do not go gentle into that good
night,” this poem as well rejects that which cannot be rejected, the ultimate
finality of death. In the first quatrain, the speaker compares himself to late
autumn, when nearly all the leaves have fallen from the branches “where late
the sweet birds sang.” The second comparison is between the speaker and murky
twilight, as “black night” comes creeping in. These metaphors, paired with the
third quatrain—which compares his life to a hearth, and his approaching death
to its expiration—would appear to paint a bleak image of life in general, and
especially of death. However, the final couplet reveals a change—a shift from
pity to appreciation. The love of the poem’s subject for the speaker redeems
his death; it is actually undying. In this way, Sonnet 73 is a rejection of
death, and the escape it suggests is through love. Shakespeare argues that one
may rebel against the clutches of “black night” by forging a love eternal. And while
love might not conquer all—according to the bard, at least—vincit mortem amor.
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