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Questions and Answers
What is the theme of mortality and the passing of time related to in the sonnet?
What is the theme of mortality and the passing of time related to in the sonnet?
What poetic device is used in the line 'Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang'?
What poetic device is used in the line 'Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang'?
What does the sun symbolize in the sonnet?
What does the sun symbolize in the sonnet?
What is the rhyme scheme of the sonnet?
What is the rhyme scheme of the sonnet?
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What is the speaker's desire in the sonnet?
What is the speaker's desire in the sonnet?
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What is the effect of the personification in the line 'Death's second self, that seals up all in rest'?
What is the effect of the personification in the line 'Death's second self, that seals up all in rest'?
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What is the structure of the sonnet?
What is the structure of the sonnet?
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Study Notes
Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare
Structure and Rhyme Scheme
- Consists of 14 lines, divided into four quatrains and a final couplet
- Rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Themes
- Mortality and the passing of time
- Beauty and its fleeting nature
- Love and the speaker's desire to be remembered
Imagery and Symbolism
- Autumn and winter: symbolize the decline of beauty and the speaker's own mortality
- Bare trees: represent the loss of vitality and beauty
- Sun: symbol of life and energy
- Fire: represents passion and love
Poetic Devices
- Metaphor: "Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang" (comparing bare trees to ruined choirs)
- Personification: "Death's second self, that seals up all in rest" (giving death the power to seal up life)
- Alliteration: "After the death of that which should have died" (repeating the "d" sound)
Key Quotations
- "When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang / Upon those boughs which shake against the cold" (lines 2-3)
- "Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang" (line 6)
- "To love that well which thou must leave ere long" (line 14)
Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare
Poem Structure
- Consists of 14 lines, divided into four quatrains and a final couplet
- Rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Themes
- Mortality and the passing of time: the poem explores the speaker's own mortality and the fleeting nature of beauty
- Beauty and its fleeting nature: the speaker reflects on the decline of beauty and the passing of time
- Love and the speaker's desire to be remembered: the poem expresses the speaker's desire to be loved and remembered
Imagery and Symbolism
- Autumn and winter symbolize the decline of beauty and the speaker's own mortality
- Bare trees represent the loss of vitality and beauty
- The sun symbolizes life and energy
- Fire represents passion and love
Poetic Devices
- Metaphor: comparing bare trees to ruined choirs ("Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang")
- Personification: giving death the power to seal up life ("Death's second self, that seals up all in rest")
- Alliteration: repeating the "d" sound ("After the death of that which should have died")
Key Quotations
- The poem begins by describing the decline of beauty and the passing of time: "When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang / Upon those boughs which shake against the cold"
- The speaker reflects on the loss of beauty: "Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang"
- The final line emphasizes the speaker's desire to be loved and remembered: "To love that well which thou must leave ere long"
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Description
Explore the structure, themes, and imagery in Shakespeare's Sonnet 73, which explores mortality, beauty, and love. Identify the poem's rhyme scheme, literary devices, and symbolic meaning.
