Shakespeare's Sonnet 16-Time Essay

596 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Literary devices used in sonnet 18

The Precious Gift of Life Revealed in Sonnet 16



Throughout literature authors attempt to control the passage of time through their works. In William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 16" he addresses this subject through the use of literary devices. These devices indicate how the progress of seasons cannot be controlled by words alone. The passing of time is displayed through paradox and imagery, but it is overcome by the ceaseless life of progeny, unlike the feeble words of Shakespeare's sonnet.



Change and age help determine time. Shakespeare uses paradox to help convey change and relate it to the past. He says to "fortify yourself in your decay," (3) which tells the reader that a stronger being and a stronger state of …show more content…

The reader can truly believe Shakespeare loves the woman is he writing to because he wants her soul to live on forever. The passage of time must be overcome for the reader's soul to live on to surpass time itself. Though he has tried to make her immortal through verse, his poetry cannot compare to the gift of

Show More
Related

  • The Rate of a Chemical Reaction When Changing the Concentration of Hydrochloric Acid

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    · Rinse out mixture in flask and leave water running to get rid of the

    Read More

  • Titration Lab Report

    1051 Words  | 3 Pages

    Attach a buret clamp (located under the hood) to a ring stand. b. Rinse the burets three times with approximately 10 ml of deionized water. Tilt and rotate the buret in an almost horizontal position (don't let the water spillout!) to rinse the entire inside wall. Allow about 5 ml of water to run through the buret tip on the last rinse. c. Pre-rinse one buret with approximately 5 ml of your Unknown acid solution. Again, rotate the buret to rinse the entire inside wall of the buret as above. d. Clamp the buret in one side of the buret clamp. Place a white piece of paper labeled "Unknown acid" under this buret. Drain any remaining pre-rinse acid solution into a beaker labeled "waste solution". e. Fill this buret with your Unknown acid solution to the zero mark or slightly below it (Not above the zero mark). Make sure the tip of the buret is completely filled and contains no air bubbles. f. Pre-rinse the second buret with approximately 5 ml of standard base solution. Clamp the buret in the other side of the buret clamp. Place a white piece of paper labeled "Standard NaOH solution" under the buret. Drain remaining prerinse NaOH solution into the waste solution beaker. Fill this buret with standard

    Read More

  • Comparison of Shall I Compare Thee? and My Mistress' Eyes are

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    In this sonnet, Shakespeare is creating a mental picture of spring and summer to compare against his loved one. He uses the fact that fine and beautiful days are the creation of nature, and nature is constantly changing all the time. Fine days never stay the same: 'rough winds' or the sun obscured by clouds, 'and often is his gold complexion dim'd', can easily mar a fine day. He talks about these negative factors of change in the first eight lines, and Shakespeare then uses these ideas to claim that his loved one will always remain untarnished, speaking of how 'thy eternal summer shall not fade' and how his loved one has lasting qualities that will outshine death: 'Nor shall death brag thou wandr'st in his shade' These thoughts come to a confident, final... ... middle of paper ... ...

    Read More

  • Free College Essays - Analysis of Shakespeare's Sonnet 75

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    The sonnet opens with a seemingly joyous and innocent tribute to the young friend who is vital to the poet's emotional well being. However, the poet quickly establishes the negative aspect of his dependence on his beloved, and the complimentary metaphor that the friend is food for his soul decays into ugly imagery of the poet alternating between starving and gorging himself on that food. The poet is disgusted and frightened by his dependence on the young friend. He is consumed by guilt over his passion. Words with implicit sexual meanings permeate the sonnet -- "enjoyer", "treasure", "pursuing", "possessing", "had" -- as do allusions to five of the seven "deadly" sins -- avarice (4), gluttony (9, 14), pride (5), lust (12), and envy (6).

    Read More

  • Metaphors In Sonnet 73

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the poems that William Shakespeare wrote is called “That time of year thou mayst in me behold.” It is also known as William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73. This Sonnet is viewed as being comprised of metaphors, which capture the struggle of life. Life in which there is an end to everything but beauty within it. The speaker within this poem is one that reflects on his life and how nature is closely connected with his journey. In order to understand the theme of the poem, the reader must first recognize and understand the three major metaphors within the poem.

    Read More

  • The Effect of Concentration on the Reaction between Sodium Thiosulphate and Hydrochloric Acid

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hcl. Under the conical flask I put a white piece of paper and put a

    Read More

  • Love In Shakespeare's 'A Valediction Forbidding Mourning'

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    William Shakespeare 's 'Sonnet 73 ' highlights the continuous anxiety; of speaker the due to the inevitability of old age. Through various poetic techniques Shakespeare underlines that the deterioration of time is arbitrary; and it therefore naturally decays beauty and life. However there is a sense that he expresses love as a stronger force which overcomes the constant decline of youth and time. This is strongly represented by the use of seasonal imagery. Similarly, John Donne utilizes formal aspects in 'A Valediction Forbidding Mourning ' to convey the same view of the strong force of love. Unlike, Shakespeare 's constant reflection on deterioration; Donne presents arguments to reassure his lover that their love can overcome all aspects.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare Doesn T Who Is The Dark Lady

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    A sonnet is a lyric poem of fourteen lines, following one of several set of rhyme-schemes. Critics of the sonnet have recognized varying classifications, but the two characteristic sonnet types are the Italian type (Petrarchan) and the English type (Shakespearean). Shakespeare is still nowadays seen as in idol in English literature. No one can read one of his works and be left indifferent. His way of writing is truly fascinating. His sonnets, which are his most popular work, reflect several strong themes. Several arguments attempt to find the full content of those themes.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Shakespeare's Sonnet 20

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    has the gentle heart of a woman but is not inconsistent as is the way

    Read More

  • The Importance of Time in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale

    2135 Words  | 5 Pages

    Unlike most of Shakespeare's earlier plays, The Winter's Tale moves from tragedy to comedy. The disastrous consequences of Leontes' jealousy and tyranny are resolved by the passing of time. Only after sixteen years can the two royal families come together again. Time also plays a significant role in the reading of the chosen passage. The passage is full of commas, colons, semi-colons, and periods, which force the lines to be slowed and pausing. The frequent punctuations draw the reader's attention to time and its effects on the words being spoken by the characters. The scansion of the passage illustrates Shakespeare's mastery of time as he manipulates the rhythm of the lines using varying foots and meters. Time seems to be the crucial element in not only the scansion of this passage, but in the development of the play as a whole.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Definition of Love in Sonnet Number 116 and 130

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Sonnet number one-hundred sixteen Shakespeare deals with the characteristics of a love that is “not time’s fool”, that true love that will last through all (Ln: 9). This sonnet uses the traditional Shakespearian structure of three quatrains and a couplet, along with a standard rhyme scheme. The first and third quatrains deal with the idea that love is “an ever-fixed mark”, something that does not end or change over time (Ln: 5). Shakespeare illustrates this characteristic of constancy through images of love resisting movemen...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Imagery In Sonnet 73

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “Sonnet 73” William Shakespeare uses seasonal and fire imagery symbolically, as well as metaphors to portray the process of aging.

    Read More

  • William Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    While Shakespeare and Spenser have their own sonnet forms and different rhyme schemes, the topics in which they write about in “Sonnet 18” and “Sonnet 75” possess many similarities. A major theme in both of the sonnets is the idea of immortal love. Both sonnets straightforwardly mention the idea of love eternalizing, defying all of time, and conquering all obstacles. Spenser unmistakably mentions that “whenas death shall al the world subdue, our love shall live, and later life renew”. Correspondingly, Shakespeare declares that his and the subject’s love “shall not fade,” but continue to grow. When it comes to a matter of love defying time, both sonnets remain in synchronization, expressing that even with death, love will go on and remain forever, through poetry and memory. Spenser conveys his lover as one who “shall live by fame”, because through “[his] verse [her] virtues rare shall eternalize”. Evidently, Shakespeare believes that as history writes itself, he and his subject’s love will become one with time because “when in et...

    Read More

  • Free Essays On Shakespeare's Sonnet 154

    414 Words  | 1 Pages

    This sonnet appears to be another version of 153 rather than one of a series. These two sonnets, two renderings of the same ides, could either prove or disprove Shakespeare's authorship. Only twice did Shakespeare rewrite any of his sonnets, both 138 and 144 appear slightly modified in _The Passionate Pilgrim_. These are evidence of Shakespeare's rewritings, but the only problem is if one is out to prove the authorship on these grounds, over-revision remains a factor; that is, Shakespeare rewrote the two sonnets changing only a few words and not the entire sonnet. These seem to be the problems with citing Shakespeaare as their author, but equally disproving him as the author. If I were to argue for Shakespeare's authorship, I would correlate "the help of bath" with being an allusion to "The Wife of Bath's Tale" in Chaucer's _Canterbury Tales_. Shakespeare used Chaucer as a source in _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ (from "The Kinght's Tale" and "The Miller's Tale"), _Troilus and Cressida_ (from _Troilus and Criseyde) and _The Two Noble Kinsmen_ (from "The Knight's Tale"). Seeing that Shakespeare used Chaucer as a reference in the past for help, I suppose "the help of bath" could be a tribut to Chaucer and thus a possible source or allusion. But this does remain on unsubstantial grounds due to the possibility of it simply meaning a water-filled basin.

    Read More

  • Shakespeare's Exploration in Sonnet 2 of the Themes of Age and Beauty

    1466 Words  | 3 Pages

    readers’ attention to the specific language and stresses the idea of the physical force of time. It further suggests via its rhythmic sound.... ... middle of paper ... ... Shakespeare uses the combination of time and beauty to come to the realisation about, and as a means to inspect and experiment with his.

    Read More

More about Shakespeare's Sonnet 16-Time Essay

Open Document