Q. Theme of Time and Love in Shakespeare's Sonnets.
The sonnet Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day may be cited as an instance here. The
poet here is frank in his admission how time wrecks different natural elements. The “darling
buds of May” are shaken, whereas “summer’s lease hath all too short a date”. The “gold
complexion” of the sun even dims and “every fair from fair sometimes declines.”.
The poem is straightforward in language and intent. Shakespeare primarily uses imagery of
nature throughout the poem to proclaim his feelings about the beauty of his beloved. He
describes summer in a way that contrasts the kind of summer we usually picture. “Rough winds
do shake the darling buds of May” shows that the poet sees the summer climate as a blow to
the spring flowers. He wants to show just how much better his beloved’s beauty is compared to
that of summer. Shakespeare works to tear down all positive thoughts of summer so that the
reader can recognize just how much he lifts up the image of his beloved. In addition, when the
poet describes the sun, he uses the words “gold complexion dimmed.” The poet again
downplays the familiar brightness of the warm, comforting sun, referring to its ray as “dimmed.”
As a result of describing the season’s climate, the poet wants readers to see that his beloved
has looks that will never change and that summer pales greatly in comparison to his beloved.
The sonnet is designed and executed with masterly artistry and proves Shakespeare's unique
command over poetic images. The image of 'eternal summer' confirms the poet's confidence in
the permanence of his love. The ephemerality of nature's beauty is reflected in the expression
'summer's lease', which actually indicates the brevity of life and youth. The image of the darling
buds of May' suggests the graceful natural element of nature which is not either spared from the
decay caused by time. "Sometimes too hot... gold complexion dimmed-this imagery hints at the
inconstancy of nature, even of the summer season which has a short-lived 'lease' in the cycle of
the season. This stands in contrast to the unchangeability of his friend's beauty which is beyond
the reach of the ravages of time. Then again his exclamation 'Nor shall death... to time thou
grow'st' claims the dominance of his friend's beauty over time. He says that his love for his
friend has inspired him to write this sonnet, in which his friend will live forever, and his beauty
will be cherished as long as mankind lives to read this sonnet. Thus the sonnet is written in
perfect balance with his happy and devoted statements and the images drawn from the world of
nature.
Sonnet 65,’ also known as ‘Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea,’ is number
sixty-five of one hundred fifty-four sonnets that Shakespeare wrote over his lifetime. It is part of
the Bard’s famous Fair Youth sequence of sonnets, which last from number one all the way
through one hundred twenty-six.These sonnets are devoted to a young, beautiful man whose
identity remains unknown to this day. There has been a great deal of speculation about who this
young man could possibly be, but no single identity has ever been decided upon. There are
some who believe that Shakespeare only wrote these poems on commission, some that he was
adopting a persona while writing, and others who believe that he is the “speaker” in the poems
and truly had a relationship, whether platonic or romantic, with the Fair Youth.
The sonnet Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day may be cited as an instance here. The
poet here is frank in his admission how time wrecks different natural elements. The “darling
buds of May” are shaken, whereas “summer’s lease hath all too short a date”. The “gold
complexion” of the sun even dims and “every fair from fair sometimes declines.”.
The poem is straightforward in language and intent. Shakespeare primarily uses imagery of
nature throughout the poem to proclaim his feelings about the beauty of his beloved. He
describes summer in a way that contrasts the kind of summer we usually picture. “Rough winds
do shake the darling buds of May” shows that the poet sees the summer climate as a blow to
the spring flowers. He wants to show just how much better his beloved’s beauty is compared to
that of summer. Shakespeare works to tear down all positive thoughts of summer so that the
reader can recognize just how much he lifts up the image of his beloved. In addition, when the
poet describes the sun, he uses the words “gold complexion dimmed.” The poet again
downplays the familiar brightness of the warm, comforting sun, referring to its ray as “dimmed.”
As a result of describing the season’s climate, the poet wants readers to see that his beloved
has looks that will never change and that summer pales greatly in comparison to his beloved.
The sonnet is designed and executed with masterly artistry and proves Shakespeare's unique
command over poetic images. The image of 'eternal summer' confirms the poet's confidence in
the permanence of his love. The ephemerality of nature's beauty is reflected in the expression
'summer's lease', which actually indicates the brevity of life and youth. The image of the darling
buds of May' suggests the graceful natural element of nature which is not either spared from the
decay caused by time. "Sometimes too hot... gold complexion dimmed-this imagery hints at the
inconstancy of nature, even of the summer season which has a short-lived 'lease' in the cycle of
the season. This stands in contrast to the unchangeability of his friend's beauty which is beyond
the reach of the ravages of time. Then again his exclamation 'Nor shall death... to time thou
grow'st' claims the dominance of his friend's beauty over time. He says that his love for his
friend has inspired him to write this sonnet, in which his friend will live forever, and his beauty
will be cherished as long as mankind lives to read this sonnet. Thus the sonnet is written in
perfect balance with his happy and devoted statements and the images drawn from the world of
nature.
Sonnet 65,’ also known as ‘Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea,’ is number
sixty-five of one hundred fifty-four sonnets that Shakespeare wrote over his lifetime. It is part of
the Bard’s famous Fair Youth sequence of sonnets, which last from number one all the way
through one hundred twenty-six.These sonnets are devoted to a young, beautiful man whose
identity remains unknown to this day. There has been a great deal of speculation about who this
young man could possibly be, but no single identity has ever been decided upon. There are
some who believe that Shakespeare only wrote these poems on commission, some that he was
adopting a persona while writing, and others who believe that he is the “speaker” in the poems
and truly had a relationship, whether platonic or romantic, with the Fair Youth.
