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Siena Maese

AP Lit. & Comp. 6

White

19 November 2020

The Loss of Time

The overall lesson learned from the poem “Sonnet 60” by William Shakespheare is how

an individual needs to accept that their time is running out and that acceptance comes from

finding their purpose. This can be seen through the shifts of tone where the narrator shifts from a

sense of unity to being more possessive, and through the use of personification of the narrator's

writing. The shift in the poem can be seen in the last two lines of the poem, because in the first

12 lines, the conflict of the poem is introduced. In the preshift there is a noticeable shift in the

tone, where there is a sense of unity, which can be seen when the narrator states, “So do our

minutes hasten to their end; each changing place with that which goes before…” (line 2-3). The

sense of unity can be seen when the narrator refers to the reader and themselves through the use

of the phrase “our”. By using the term “our” it forms a connection with the reader and the

narrator, which supports the tone of unity. The sense of unity adds to the overall lesson on the

concept of time by discussing how “...our minutes hasten to an end…”. By the narrator using the

term “our” when referring to the amount of time that is left it demonstrates how everyone is

constantly losing time, and how the world around them is constantly changing. The use of the

term “our” provides more support because the narrator is demonstrating how the loss of time is

not an individual issue but an issue that affects everyone. There is a shift in tone where the

narrator becomes more possessive when he states, “ and yet to times in hope my verse shall

stand, Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand” (line 13-14). In this excerpt the tone changes to
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more possessive when the narrator uses the phrase “my verse”. This is the first time in the poem

that the narrator uses the term“my”, which demonstrates a possessive tone towards the concept

of time. In this excerpt the narrator is describing how they are hopeful that their “verse” will

survive the crueliness of time. The pre shift describes how everyone is subject to the

repercussions of time, but in the post shift the narrator describes how they are trying to face the

challenges that time places on people. The way that the narrator plans on withstanding time is

through their writing, which can also be considered his purpose. This signifies that the narrator

has come to accept that time is running out through finding his purpose, which is writing. The

use of figurative language can also be seen in the pre and post shift. In the post shift the narrator

states, “Nativity, once in the main light, crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d…” (line

5-6). In this excerpt, the narrator uses personification of nativity, which is an occasion of an

individual's birthday. The personification of the term nativity contributes to the overall lesson

learned which is that time is always running out and in order to accept this an individual must

discover their purpose to achieve this acceptance. In this excerpt the image of nativity crawling

to maturity contributes to the idea that time is running out, because when people age it tends to

be recognized as a negative because an individual is closer to death. The idea of the loss of time

being a negative can also be seen through the connotation of the word crawl, and in this excerpt

the connotation is negative. When an individual crawls it is usually because they do not have the

capability to use their legs to walk properly, which could represent how the narrator visualizes

the idea of individuals being incapable of accepting the idea of time running out. The use of

figurative language can also be seen in the post shift when the narrator states, “... and yet in times

in hope my verse shall stand…” (line 13). In this line the narrator uses personification in his

writing, which is used to represent how his writing will “stand” over time. This also
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demonstrates the idea of time as something that is powerful, where individuals from different

generations influence other generations. This power would stem from an individual finding their

purpose, and the purpose that is found continues on for multiple generations. The idea of the

narrator finding his purpose can be seen through his use of the personification of his writing. In

this excerpt from the post shift, the narrator shifts from using terms like “crawl” to stating how

his writing will “stand”. When the narrator uses the term “crawl” he is referencing humanity and

their maturity, but when he utilizes the term “stand” he is referencing his own writing and not

humanity. This demonstrates the narrator's idea of time, and how an individual's writing will last

longer and be more powerful than when they are physically present. The narrator’s use of

personification and shifts between positive and negative diction contributes to the overall lesson

learned because it shows how even though there is negative meaning associated with time, his

writing will stand through time and remain positive.