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Name: Raunak Mitra

Roll no.: 2133108

Professor: Renu Elizabeth Abraham

Subject: Reading and Engaging with Texts

Date: 31st August 2021

The Concept of Time in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and Marvell’s To His Coy Mistress

The concept of time has undergone deep transformations during the Renaissance

period. The Aristotelian definition of time – a number of motions in respect to before and

after, was challenged by deeming time to be independent from motion and in fact connected

to the divine structure of beings in the universe by innovative thinkers and philosophers like

Ficino, Telesio, and Patrizi. Bruno introduced a more relative aspect to time and presented a

perspective which presented that we should rather speak of a multiplicity of times. With time

being no longer referred to the Ptolemaic cosmos, the concept of duration was used to explain

the internal time of things and living beings as defined by Suarez in the beginning of the 17th

century. The philosophy of time as an “inner reality” was of great importance to the field of

literature and moral philosophy as clearly suggestive from works of Shakespeare and

Montaigne.

Let us observe how Shakespeare treats time through his poetry and consider Sonnet 18

for this case. Shakespeare uses this sonnet form to highlight his message about his beloved

and their magnificent appearance. The most instrumental part of this poem is that

Shakespeare eternalizes his words in order to eternalize his love for his beloved and in fact

himself. Furthermore, this suggests how Shakespeare challenges the ravages of time. This is
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particularly noticeable in the lines “So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see / so long

lives this, and this gives life to thee” (13-14). Shakespeare says even though his beloved’s

beauty would not last for as long as this poem can exist, his poetry will be eternal.

Shakespeare uses figurative language to personify the sun by calling it “the eye of heaven”

with “his gold complexion dimmed”. By personifying the sun, Shakespeare essentially

degrades the power of the sun which allows him to emphasize his beloved’s beauty and

eternalize it. The line “Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade” portrays “Death” as

a figure that wanders around his “shade”. Thus, we can infer that his beloved is an ideal not

only for the poet but also for his readers throughout posterity. Such use of figurative language

immortalizes Shakespeare’s beloved whose beauty and power can conquer the ravages of

time and death itself.

Now let us observe how the metaphysical poet Andrew Marvell treats time and take his

poem “To His Coy Mistress” to present a contrast to how Shakespeare treats time. Here, the

poet tries to persuade his beloved to consummate their love while there is still time. He says

that if they had all the time in the world, that is if they were immortal, they could develop

their relationship gradually. However, he reminds the fact that they are mortal. Thus, they

have limited time to share their moments of intimacy. The poem seems to be an attempt to

persuade his beloved and to elucidate on mortality in its inevitability and grotesqueness. It is

essentially a ‘carpe diem’ poem. The first stanza explores a hypothetical world where Marvell

questions if he and his beloved were immortal. He imagines a world of eternal pleasure which

is suggestive from the way he describes how he would adore his beloved. He feels no

urgency to consummate their relationship. The second stanza, however, reflects on their

mortality. The poet makes it obvious that death is inevitable. He does not fear going to Hell

and being punished for his sins. However, he fears death as it limits his time to fulfil his

erotic desires. The poet’s fear of death overshadows his erotic passion.
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The idea of time and its relation to human existence undergoes a paradigmatic shift

from Shakespeare to Marvell. While Shakespeare adheres to the philosophies of the

Renaissance humanists, acknowledging and trying to overcome the limitations posed by time,

in Marvell, there is strange complacency, an acceptance, of the temporal nature of human

existence.
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Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45087/sonnet-18-shall-i-compare-thee-to-a-

summers-day

Marvell, Andrew. “To His Coy Mistress”. Poetry Foundation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44688/to-his-coy-mistress

Codrina, Lia. “Time’s Tricephalous Image in Macbeth by William Shakespeare.” Theatrical

Colloquia, Artes Publishing House, 2017.

Richards, Brian. "(Im)Mortality and the Poem: Comparing and Contrasting Marvell and

Shakespeare." Inquiries Journal, (2010). www.inquiriesjournal.com/a?id=239