1. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
William Shakespeare
Sonnet 73
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

2. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
What is the poet saying?
Quatrain 1
“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.” (1-4)
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

3. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Quatrain 1
The poet presents his first metaphor.
“That time of year…”
Fall
Fall is meant to represent death.
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

4. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Quatrain 1
Death Imagery and Diction
Yellow leaves
None are hanging
Bare branches on trees
Cold
No birds
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

5. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Quatrain 2
“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.” (5-8)
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

6. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Quatrain 2
The poet presents his second metaphor.
“the twilight of such day”
End of the day
The end of the day is meant to represent death
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

7. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Quatrain 2
Death imagery and Diction
Twilight
Sunset
Fadeth
West
Black night
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

8. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Quatrain 3
“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.” (9-12)
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

9. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Quatrain 3
The poet presents his third metaphor
“glowing of such a fire”
A fire is dying out
The glowing fire is meant to represent death
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

10. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Quatrain 3
Death Imagery and Diction
ashes of his youth
Deathbed
Expire
Consumed
Repetition
The beginning of line 9 is the same as the beginning of line 5.
Parallel Structure
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

11. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Couplet
“This thou perceives, which makes thy love more strong, To love that well which thou must leave ere long.” (13-14)
Even though everyone knows the speaker will eventually die, he appreciates that his friend stays by his side and loves him.
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

12. How Does He Go About Saying it?
Poetic Devices
Shakespearean Sonnet
Rhyme Scheme
abab cdcd efef gg
3 quatrains and 1 couplet
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

13. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Meter
ᴗ ´ ᴗ ´ ᴗ ´ ᴗ ´ ᴗ ´
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
Iambic Pentameter
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

14. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Nature Imagery
Fall
“When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang” (2)
“boughs which shake against the cold” (3)
“Bare ruined choirs” (4)
Fall imagery suggests the coming of death
Fall leads to winter
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

15. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Death Imagery
“twilight” (5)
“sunset” (6)
“fadeth” (6)
“west” (6)
“black night” (7)
All the images suggest the end of the day
The death of the day
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

16. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Metaphor
Each quatrain discusses a metaphor for death
Quatrain 1
Compares death to fall
Quatrain 2
Compares death to the end of a day
Quatrain 3
Compares death to a dying fire
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

17. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Tone
Sad
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73

18. Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73
Theme
Death?
Love?
Geschke/British Literature Shakespeare's Sonnet 73