Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold

Poetry | William Shakespeare

Discuss the various images drawn by Shakespeare in Sonnet 73.

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Discuss the various images drawn by Shakespeare in Sonnet nbsp Shakespeare s - Sonnet uses strong and simple images These images show old age They show weakness They show the slow fading of life The poet uses three main images Each image helps us feel his aging Late autumn The poet says you can see yellow leaves or none or few The trees are almost bare The branches shake in the cold wind He calls them bare ruin d choirs Once birds sang there Now there is silence This image shows the end of youth It shows loss and emptiness It shows a body that is no longer strong Twilight The poet says his life is like the twilight of such day Twilight is the time after sunset Light is weak Darkness is coming Soon black night will cover everything Night is death s second self This image shows time

running out It shows life moving toward death slowly but surely Dying fire The poet then uses the picture of a fire He says you can see the glowing of such fire The fire is small It lies on the ashes of its own youth It dies because it burns the same fuel that once made it bright This image shows a life that is almost finished It shows tired energy It shows the end of strength Together these images create a clear story of aging Autumn twilight and dying fire all point to one idea life is short These simple images make the poem real They touch the reader s heart They show beauty even in fading life

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William Shakespeare
Literary Writer
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from Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold