SONNET LXXIII (William Shakespeare)

That Time Of Year....Sonnet LXXIII

William Shakespeare

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 ruined 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 deathbed whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourished by.

This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.


ANALYSIS for those who CARE:
.: :. Shakespeare is leading the reader, through brilliant metaphors, to the realization of inevitable old age, inevitable death, and of an unpretentious view on our mortality. In this metaphor he uses the season of fall, right before the "death" of winter. This time correlates to old age, near to the end of one's life.The most important part of this Sonnet is the couplet at the end: "This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong, to love that well which thou must leave ere long." This is saying: You see in me-"the twilight of such day, as after the sunset fadeth" (The end of the day, the end of my life)-"the glowing of such fire, that on the ashes of his youth doth lie" (My "light" is about to burn out, my "life" is about to burn out)-He says, "you notice this in me, and your love for me strengthens because before long, I will inevitably leave you, in my death.