INTRODUCTION Sonnet 73 is one of the most renowned poetry of William Shakespeare out of his 154 sonnets. The poet expresses an emotion of self pity for growing old. The poem is addressed to fair youth, it's a general yet important reminder to mankind that the nature of time is to pass. Through the images of Autumn, passing day and dying fire poet wanted to give an example of time's superiority over men SONNET 73: THAT TIME OF YEAR THOU MAYST IN ME BEHOLD 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 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,...
INTRODUCTION
Sonnet 73 is one of the most renowned poetry of William Shakespeare out of his 154 sonnets. The poet expresses an emotion of self pity for growing old. The poem is addressed to fair youth, it's a general yet important reminder to mankind that the nature of time is to pass. Through the images of Autumn, passing day and dying fire poet wanted to give an example of time's superiority over men
SONNET 73: 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 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 perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
MEANING OF DIFFICULT WORDS
Thou: you (आप)
Behold: see (निहारना)
Boughs: a main branch of tree (मुख्य शाखा)
Ruin'd : ruin (टूटा-फूटा भाग)
Choirs: musical assembly (गायक मंडलियों)
See'st: see (देखना)
Twilight: time of the presence of two lights (the sun light & the moon light), evening (सांझ)
Fadeth: fade (फीका)
Doth: do (करना)
Seals: lock
Whereon: on which (जिस पर)
Consum'd: consumed (ग्रहण किया हुआ)
Perceiv'st: to realise or understand or to be aware of or conscious (समझना)
Thy: your (आपका)
Ere: before (पहले)
ABOUT THE POET
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The Shakespearean sonnets consists of 154 sonnets, all written in three quatrains and a couplet format, which was named after his great literary achievement. The sonnets are broadly classified into two groups: sonnets 1-126, addressed to a' fair young man' who is superior to the poet and nobel in society, and sonnets 127-152, to a "Dark Lady," who is malicious yet fascinating. His sonnets are mostly written during mid 1590s, in the Elizabethan form of rhyme- a b a b c d c d e f e f g g . Shakespeare uses to deliver the themes of love, beauty, time, decay, immortality, procreation and selfishness.
SUMMARY
Shakespeare's sonnet 73,'' That time of year'' is addressed to a fair young men. The Shakespearean sonnet is written in the 1590s; yet it remained unpublished until 1609. The sonnet is written in the Elizabethan form of rhyme- a b a b c d c d e f e f g g . Shakespeare talks about the ravages of time. The sonnet orbits around the narrator's own fear of old age and death, and each quatrain through a metaphor the poet explains his fear in a quite unique way. But in the end he finds a solution which he propagates to people through his sonnet, "That time of year".
1ST QUATRAIN:
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 ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
The first quatrain uses the metaphor of the season autumn which he compares to his own life. The autumn season is the time of the year where the leave pay adieu to their own branch, sweet singing birds are absent and the cold is setting its steps to enter the nature. So also the narrator is finding similarities with the season and self how his own body parts are paying adieu to him. The narrator feels like a barren tree; leafless, bird less and lifeless, and how the fear of death is freezing him and seizing his heart with chilling waves.
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 the second Quatrain, the poet constructs a metaphorical bridge to connect the sentiment of a passing day to a dying soul. The day is here staged to be during twilight and the poet narrator is also at the twilight of his life. Poet links the process of aging to the twilight. The voice feels frightened with the mere dim view of aging, he uses another metaphor,' the fading sun and the approaching Dark night' to help the readers visualize how he fears the idea of old age and the inevitable death following it. The reader can visualize the pain when the poet says, "by and by" and in the final line the poet submits to death by calling it the real 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.
In the third Quatrain, the poet sees himself in a glowing fire at its last time. He says that the fire is standing on the ashes of his own youth and would soon be concurred by its death; the darkness. The poet creates a terrifying image by saying that the fire; it's the consumer of that what nourished it throughout it's life. Shakespeare is trying to tell about the significance of time, how life and death are tethered to time.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
In the final couplet the poet says a beautiful thing in alliteration that one should love more when he finds time to love is less. The poet here seems to be in want of love, warmth, intimacy and attachment, he is petrified of old age, death and eternal separation which is the reason for his present suffering. He suggests the young man to love stronger as the days goes shorter.
CONCLUSION
The poem sonnet 73,"That time of year" is a poetry of great responsibility as it's written to enlighten the people about life growing shorter than death's approach. Shakespeare allows his audiences to go on a short journey from life to death and give a close watch at the consequences of old age. The poem is enriching in negativity and with cold attitude because death is something that someone rarely enjoy. The youth will disappeared and would leave him with the past and fear for the future. The poetry is rich in natural imagery, extended metaphors, beautiful symbols and gives its readers a serious message. The poem helps us visualize the passing of time and the life getting shorter at the same place when he writes about season of a year and then moves to hours of a day and then moves to even smaller time that is life of a fire. Shakespeare says about the passing nature of time, and states that no man is immortal but through his poetry he has achieved his immortality over time.
THEME
DEATH: Death is the inevitable, undefeated and a must come event of life. Every person born , is born with the death waiting for them in future. You don't need to wait or search for it, when the time comes it comes for you.
LOVE: Love is the central theme of the poem. It says that love more strong and love well, whom ever you love, love them to the fullest before it's late to love. Love your loved ones more when the time to love is less.
TIME: Time is another yet the most important theme of the poem which says that time if brings life with it will take away too. Time is the most powerful thing it has seen leaves falling from boughs, singing birds leaving trees, sun setting and darkness approaching and time has also witnessed the death of fire. So time will take away the life and love which it gave you once.
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