Tanja Säily
Poetry Analysis, Veg120
Department of English
University of Helsinki
Spring 1999
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end,
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toile all forwards do contend.
Nativity once in the maine of light,
Crawles to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
Crooked eclipses gainst his glory fight,
And time that gave, doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfixe the flourish set on youth,
And delves the paralels in beauties brow,
Feedes on the rarities of natures truth,
And nothing stands but for his sieth to mow.
And yet to times in hope, my verse shall stand
Praising thy worth, dispight his cruell hand.
We get old fast, but although time destroys our beauty, poetry may preserve it. This seems to be the main message of Shakespeare's sixtieth sonnet. Our ill fate is determined by the stars, and the rapid flow of time makes us old, ugly, and finally dead, but the writings about us survive.
Shakespeare addressed this sonnet and many others to a young man, whom he sought to immortalise in his poems. The first stanza of the poem compares the minutes of the man's life to waves which hasten to the shore one by one, each being replaced by the one coming after it. The second stanza describes the course of his life: a glorious birth and slow growth to maturity, with which comes the bad part: youth is forever lost, and time takes life away from him just when he had got used to it. The third stanza continues on the image of personified time which destroys youth, beauty and life. The last stanza, however, introduces a comforting thought: despite the cruelty of time, the poem will forever praise his young beauty.
The form of this poem is, unsurprisingly, the Shakespearean (or English)
Sonnet. The rhyme scheme is ababcdcdefefgg; the poem consists of 14
lines which are grouped in three quatrains (introducing a problem) and a
final rhyming couplet (giving the solution). The sonnet is written in
iambic pentameter with a few exceptions for emphasis.
The beginning of line six has a trochaic foot which highlights the word 'Crawles' - before maturity, time moves slowly, but after it, minutes hasten to their end. The next line does the same for 'Crooked' - the fate determined by the man's stars is against his success. The third stanza emphasises 'Time' as an active force, or even person, who ruthlessly uses his scythe to pierce through and devour youth. The last line of the sonnet has a trochaic foot emphasising 'Praising' - despite the fact that the man's beauty is perishable, it is remembered and celebrated in this poem, and in that way he can transcend time.
Shakespeare's language is rich and full of figures of thought. For example, the poem begins with a simile which compares minutes to waves. The scythe is a symbol of death. There is also a lot of alliteration and assonance. Shakespeare wrote many poems concentrating on the 'carpe diem' theme, but all of them have unique imagery. I like this sonnet because I think its tropes are particularly effective and beautiful.