William Shakespeare ( ) First Published1609, in Sonnets Type of Poem: Sonnet “That Time of Year” The ravages of time on one's physical well-being and the mental anguish associated with moving further from youth and closer to death detail.html

Introduction This fourteen-line poem, which is divided into three distinct quatrains (four-line stanzas) followed by a couplet (two lines), is addressed to the poet’s lover and comments on the approach of old age in the speaker. As in all the Shakespearian sonnets, the voice is that of the poet. The lover has sometimes been interpreted as the unknown “Mr. W. H.” to whom the first quarto edition was dedicated, but Samuel Taylor Coleridge surmised that the lover must be a woman. This fourteen-line poem, which is divided into three distinct quatrains (four-line stanzas) followed by a couplet (two lines), is addressed to the poet’s lover and comments on the approach of old age in the speaker. As in all the Shakespearian sonnets, the voice is that of the poet. The lover has sometimes been interpreted as the unknown “Mr. W. H.” to whom the first quarto edition was dedicated, but Samuel Taylor Coleridge surmised that the lover must be a woman.

That time of year thou mayst in me beholdIn me you can see that time of year When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hangWhen a few yellow leaves or none at all hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, On the branches, shaking against the cold, Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. Bare ruins of church choirs where lately the sweet birds sang. In me thou seest the twilight of such dayIn me you can see only the dim light that remains As after sunset fadeth in the west,After the sun sets in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away,Which is soon extinguished by black night, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.The image of death that envelops all in rest. In me thou see'st the glowing of such fireI am like a glowing ember That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,Lying on the dying flame of my youth, As the death-bed whereon it must expire,As on the death bed where it must finally expire, Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.Consumed by that which once fed it. This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong, This you sense, and it makes your love more determined To love that well which thou must leave ere long.Causing you to love that which you must give up before long. SONNET 73 PARAPHRASE

that time of year (1): i.e., being late autumn or early winter. Bare ruin'd choirs (4): 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 ruin'd choirs'. If we assume the adjective 'cold' modifies 'Bare ruin'd choirs', then the image becomes more concrete -- those boughs are sweeping against the ruins of the church. black night (7): a metaphor for death itself. As 'black night' closes in around the remaining light of the day, so too does death close in around the poet. Death's second self (8): i.e. 'black night' or 'sleep.' Macbeth refers to sleep as "The death of each day's life" (2.2.49). In me thou see'st...was nourish'd by (9-12): The following is a brilliant paraphrase by early 20th-century scholar Kellner: "As the fire goes out when the wood which has been feeding it is consumed, so is life extinguished when the strength of youth is past." (See Sonnets, ed. Rollins, p.191) that (12): i.e., the poet's desires. This (14): i.e., the demise of the poet's youth and passion. To love that well (12): The meaning of this phrase and of the concluding couplet has aroused much debate. Is the poet saying that the young man now understands that he will lose his own youth and passion, after listening to the lamentations in the three preceding quatrains? Or is the poet saying that the young man now is aware of the poet's imminent demise, and this knowledge makes the young man's love for the poet stronger because he might soon lose him? What must the young man give up before long -- his youth or his friend? For more on this dilemma please see the commentary below.

Summary The poet opens by stating that his lover must behold him at the time of life corresponding to late autumn, when almost no leaves remain on the trees and the birds have flown south. The poet’s calling attention to his old age might seem incongruous, since many lovers might try to hide the fact from their companions. Yet, in this relationship, William Shakespeare not only is being forthright but also seems to be seeking the sympathy of his dear friend. In the second quatrain, the image shifts from the time of year to the time of day. He chooses twilight, the period between sunset and darkness, to reflect his state. “Twi” originally meant “half,” so “half-light” signifies a period of diminished abilities and activities, again calling for the sympathy and understanding of the poet’s friend. The second half of the quatrain brings forth more forcibly the associations of darkness with death and emphasizes the immanence of that mortal state in the poet’s life. The third quatrain moves from the world of seasons and time to the more restricted compass of natural phenomena—the way a fire burns itself to ashes and then is smothered by those ashes. As the magnitude of the image decreases, the force of its message concentrates, concluding with the very picture of a deathbed. The concluding couplet sums up the purpose of Shakespeare’s revelation of his decreasing powers: to request that his friend love more strongly because of the short time left to the poet. Critics have been concerned with the word “leave” in the last line, since it might be thought to indicate that the lover is the one to depart. Some have even commented that “lose” might better convey the idea. Certainly the death of the poet would cause a separation to occur, however, and the lover would have to “leave” him.

The poem reveals that the poet is speaking not of his impending physical death, but the death of his youth and subsequently his youthful desires -- those very things which sustained his relationship with the young man The poem reveals that the poet is speaking not of his impending physical death, but the death of his youth and subsequently his youthful desires -- those very things which sustained his relationship with the young man.

Shakespearean Sonnet This poem, a sonnet, consists of fourteen lines of iambic pentameter. The form, which was created by Petrarch, an Italian poet of the fourteenth century, usually consisted of eight lines sketching a situation (octave) and six lines applying it (sestet). The form was modified by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, earl of Sur- rey. They and other poets created the English sonnet, which consists of three quatrains followed by a couplet, rhyming abab, cdcd, efef, gg. In this form, adopted by Shakespeare and frequently called by his name, the couplet summarizes the theme.

What does the speaker compare himself to? Sonnet 73 contains three distinct metaphors for the poet’s progressive aging. 1.The first of these is the implied comparison between his state and the time of year when a few yellow leaves, or none at all, remain on boughs shaking in the cold winds, deserted by the birds that usually inhabit them. One might be tempted to compare this directly with graying and loss of hair, but it is more probably to be taken generally as a reference to the aging process. 2.The second quatrain moves from the time of year to the time of day. Again there is a metaphor: The poet’s likeness is that of a day fading in the west after sunset. Instead of the yellow of the first quatrain, there is the black of night’s approach, a more sinister prospect. There follows a personification within the metaphor, naming night as death’s second self, in essence creating a new metaphor within the first as it envisions night, which “seals up all in rest.” The word “seals” suggests the permanent closing of a coffin lid, providing a finality that is only slightly relieved by the knowledge that the reader is actually seeing not death, but night. 3.The third metaphor involves a complex process rather than a simple period of time. The afterglow of a fire gradually being choked by the ashes of its earlier burning becomes the description of Shakespeare’s aging. 4.The concluding couplet moves from metaphor to direct statement, summarizing the purpose of the poet in revealing so frankly his approaching old age. After the richness of the preceding lines, it might appear almost anticlimactic, yet it is important to the structure of the form, lending finality to the whole.