William Shakespeare : Sonnet 73
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,
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.
Question : Essay-type
Attempt a critical appreciation of the Shakespearean sonnet 73 “That Time of Year Thou Mayst in Me Behold”.
Critical Appreciation
Introduction
Shakespearean sonnets suggest intense subjectivity. The sonnet, “That Time of Year Thou Mayst in Me Behold”– Sonnet 73 is addressed to the poet’s male friend. It reflects his intense personal feelings. It is particularly marked with the poet’s personal moods and as well as his ideals of life and love. It belongs to the group of sonnets in which the poet gives out much of his personal mood of depression caused by various factors.
Theme
The theme of the sonnet is tender and touching. The poet here anticipates the time when he will have physical decay and decline leading to his death. In a gloomy and pensive mood he anticipates how the ravages of time will mark him and doom him in his age which is to come in no time.
But this depressing thought of the poet is lightened by his firm faith in the consolatory and restorative power of love. The poet rises above his mental depression and despondency as he realizes that the love of his friend will grow stronger with the gradual decay of his body.
The poem, as noted already, has a profoundly personal touch, and this has made it particularly appealing. The poet’s mood of depression here is supposed to be an echo of his utter frustration of life at the time to which the sonnets belongs. Whatever that may be, a stark but sincere tone of pessimism dominates the poem. The poet is haunted with a deep sense of inevitable decay and death.
But, as noted, a dire pessimism is not the only aspect of the theme of the poem. The poet’s outlook here rather bears antithetical elements, and his pessimism is counter-balanced by his optimistic idealization of love. He feels quite confident of the greater love of his friend with the steady decline of his health. He asserts that his friend will be led to love him more because he will pass away ere long-
“To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.”
Uses of Imagery
The sonnet is remarkable for Shakespeare’s use of imagery. The poet’s assumption of old age is suggested by the image of late autumn or early winter. His age is vividly presented with the images of ‘yellow leaves’, ‘boughs’ which ‘shake against the cold’, ‘bare ruin’d choirs’ and ‘twilight’. Death is suggested by ‘sunset’ and ‘black night’. The terrors of death are tempered by its comparison with sleep, and more especially a sleep that ‘seals up all in rest’. The fire of life was once brilliant, but now it has got dimmed. The poet’s youth has turned into ashes. The ashes now serve to extinguish the very flame that, when those ashes were wood, they fed. What is implied, of course, is that the vigour and liberties of youth are precisely what serve to bring men by the excess of youthful folly and energy to their death.
Structure
The sonnet is a perfect example of Shakespearean form. Three quatrains, each with its own governing figure of decline, serve as incremental parts of a discourse. Each one reinforces the inexorable truth of the natural world’s mutability. The couplet clearly suggests the poet’s consolation that his beloved or his friend will love him more when he feels that he is destined to lose him soon. It suggests the continuation and the enhancement of his love in the face of a ravaged lover.
