Question
sonnet 73 william shakespeare
Answers
GPT-4o mini
Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare is one of his famous 154 sonnets. In this poem, the speaker reflects on aging and the passage of time, using metaphors that liken the speaker’s life to the changing seasons.
Here is the text of 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 seest 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 seest 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 nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
In this sonnet, the speaker poignantly captures the inevitability of aging and the deepening love that can arise from the awareness of mortality. If you'd like to discuss its themes, form, or anything else, feel free to ask!
Here is the text of 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 seest 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 seest 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 nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
In this sonnet, the speaker poignantly captures the inevitability of aging and the deepening love that can arise from the awareness of mortality. If you'd like to discuss its themes, form, or anything else, feel free to ask!