SONNET 73

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Shakespeare is an English
playwright, poet and actor. He
is widely regarded as the
greatest writer in the English
language and the world’s
greatest dramatist.
Shakespeare was born in 1564
in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small
town in England.
SUMMARY

 In the first quatrain, the speaker compares aging to late autumn when the leaves
have fallen off the trees and the weather is cold. The church buildings (metaphor for
bare branches) where the choirs once sang are now in ruins and the birds no longer
sing.
 The speaker, in the second quatrain compares aging to the dusk when the sun has set
in the west and introduces the darkness of night-time. Night-time is compared to
death’s second self.
 In the third quatrain the speaker compares aging to the coals of a fire that is about to
die. He compares how the coals cannot burn without the ashes, to old age that
cannot exist without the figments of the youth.
 In the couplet, the speaker advises that these things must be seen/noted/perceived
so that love can be strengthened by the knowledge that when life is extinguished, we
depart from our loved ones.
WORDS TO KNOW

Word Meaning
Bough A branch of a tree
Ruined reduced to a state of collapse
Twilight The period just before it becomes completely
dark in the evening.

Seals A tight and perfect closure

ere before (a specified time)
TYPE AND FORM

 This is a Shakespearean sonnet, also known as an Elizabethan sonnet. Like all

sonnets, it has fourteen lines. It is divided into 3 quatrains (units of four lines) and
has a rhyming couplet (a unit of two lines). The rhythm is in iambic pentameter.
The rhyme scheme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg.
THEMES

 Aging
 Death
 Love
AGING

 In the poem, the speaker explores how it feels like to get older and face the reality
that death is imminent. The effects of time on one’s physical health and the
mental fear associated with moving further from youth and closer to death. Part
of growing old is having longing for the years gone by. Aging is also associated a
sense of peace and calm as life begins to slow down.
 Comparing the speaker to a tree in late autumn reveals the speaker’s advancing
age, however, the yellow falling leaves that shake from the cold are clear signs
that the tree is not ready yet for winter. The comparison of the bare branches
where the birds no longer sing to ruined churches where the choir no longer sing,
reveals how the speaker mourns the loss of his youthful appearance. The absence
of birds implies the peace and quietness that comes with old age.
DEATH

 The speaker seems to be haunted by the inevitable truth that all living beings are
subject to death. The poem has metaphors for death. In the second quatrain the
moving image of twilight that is fading as the sun sets in the west and turns into
darkness. This symbolizes the last moments the speaker has. The image of fire
that is extinguishing and turning into ashes, in the third quatrain, represents a
youthful life that is well lived. The ashes represent a beautiful life that has come to
an end. In the couplet, the speaker tells the reader that death helps people love
and cherish each other more while they are still on earth.
LOVE

 In line 13 the speaker introduces the theme of love. Although love can triumph
over many obstacles, it still is limited by mortality and nature. In the poem, love is
discussed from the point of view of the life cycle. The speaker wants the reader to
understand that life is not too long, and it may be too late to enjoy this light
feeling of love. The speaker, therefore, advises the reader to fall in love as much as
possible and to love when people have a chance.
TONE AND MOOD

 In the quatrains the tone is:

 pensive and mournful as the speaker perceives his proximity to death.
 melancholic as the speaker explains that he is aging.
 Tender

 The mood is:

 sentimental
 sorrowful
ACTIVITY 3