RAVAGING TIME IN SHAKESPEARE’S SELECTED SONNETS

The figure of time has been one of the basic issues in William Shakespeare’s Sonnets (1609)

which was written on a variety of matters including The Dark Lady and Fair Youth in early

modern English. During all his life, Shakespeare wrote thirty-nine plays, one hundred-fifty-

four sonnets and two long narrative poems in addition to a few other verses that contributed to

English literature importantly. As to his sonnets, they are thought to be a continuation of the

sonnet tradition which spread in Renaissance, from Petrarch in 14th-century Italy and

ultimately introduced by Thomas Wyatt in 16th-century England. Shakespeare’s sonnets have

the form of English sonnet, that is, its rhyme scheme, the 14 lines, and the meter. In this

sense, it seems like Shakespeare’s sonnets introduce important departures of content, which

means his sonnets seem to be rebelling against 200 years old tradition. The poems in Sonnets

cover themes such as mortality, beauty, love, jealousy and, time. The main objective of this

paper is to investigate how Shakespeare deploys the concept of time in his selected sonnets by

challenging and at times blaming it for devastating his Dark Lady and Fair Youth.

His Sonnets published in 1609 has many different themes in which the major subject is

dignity of love. However, when it comes to the theme of time, although time has been a vast

subject as an issue in texts, it takes place as a fundamental figure in literature. It can be seen

almost all stories begin and end in a circle of time which is sometimes regarded as a character

in novels, movies or poems. Similarly, it also appealed to Shakespeare who dealt with it in his

Sonnets.

He establishes a formidable antagonist against which to claim the force and determination of

his devotion. Shakespeare portrays his responsibility and lamentation to the image of time in

some of his sonnets. Especially in his twenty-two sonnets that were written for the Dark Lady

and Fair Youth, the main theme is centered on the concept of time which is described as a
cruel tyrant and a destroyer .“If Shakespeare had been a medieval writer, time would probably

not have been a major concern to him. Or, at least, it would have been treated in totally

different terms. But in Elizabethan England, it had already become an obsession, which can

be explained by the developments in clock-making (Moreira 248).” Furthermore, perspectives

of time are universal in Sonnets as the poet uses natural world, past and future relationship.

Throughout his sonnets, it can be seen that Shakespeare has a war with time as he begs it to

leave his Dark Lady and Fair Youth untouched without destroying their beauty and youth.

“This connection between love and time is a natural and a profound one. The emotion of love

renders him most sensitive to and aware of the preciousness of life, its infinite beauty, and yet

to the fleeting nature of this life and this beauty.(Henderson 7)” Shakespeare considers time as

a cruel figure claiming that nothing can stand against it. As it elapses, time does not only age

everything but also kills the vulnerable beauty and life of everything in the end of their

existence.

Therefore, it is regarded as totally in pessimistic way by him. In addition, Shakespeare

personifies time which occurs often in his sonnets as devourer, tyrant, and thief etc. In

Sonnets, poet treats time by comparing past and future, discussing backwards and forwards. In

addition, the harmful varieties of time, those which work against the relationship, are

associated not with natural processes but with social activities (Kaula 3).” Therefore, poet

opposes to time and he laments since everything is impermanent because of it and its elapsing

circle even if it is an abstract figure.

In the first quatrain of Sonnet 5; the poet talks about the destructive nature of time. It wipes

out the unique beauty of Fair Youth which is addressed by the poet and who has a universal

beauty, innocence and attraction destroyed by the elapsing time that is stated in the first

quatrain;

Those hours that with gentle work did frame

 The lovely gaze where every eye doth dwell

Will play the tyrants to the very same,

And that unfair which fairly doth Excel (1-4)

It is seen that hours as a part of time ravage the wonderful face which is liked by everybody.

This is an example of meronymy owing to the fact that pieces like day, hour and minute have

destructive qualities as they belong to the time factor in general.

In addition, the poet also emphasises the aging progress by establishing metaphors between

beauty and summer in the second quatrain. So, he resembles the beauty of Fair Youth to the

warm nature of summer arguing that they are similar in a sense.

For never-resting Time leads summer on

To hideous winter and confounds him there,

Sap checked"with frost, and lusty leaves quite gone,

Beauty o’ersnowed and bareness everywhere. (5-8)

As to third quatrain, poet repeats his emphasis on the relationship between summer and

beauty both of which have colourful natures. Time which has a destructive quality not only

wipes out the beauty and youth but also it prevents them to exist in memories and leads to

oblivion as it is stated in the last line “ nor it, nor no remembrance what it was:”

Then, were not summer’s distillation left,

A liquid prisoner pent in walls of glass,

Beauty’s effect with beauty were bereft,

Nor it, nor no remembrance what it was: (9-12

Moreover, in the last quatrain; it can be seen the poet uses natural world to make a mention of

connections in which visible show of the flowers in nature disappears.

 But flowers distill’d, though they with winter meet,

Leese but their show; their substance still lives sweet (13-14)

In this sonnet, poet uses summer resembling it to beauty. Summer turns into winter as time

passes just like life and beauty turns into death. This is an important instance of natural

explanation that is parallel to time factor.

The deathful duty of time is explored in Sonnet 12 too in which it is considered as the most

forceful thing in the world. In the first two lines of the first quatrain, it could be noticed, how

rapid time passes by converting beauty and light into beast and dark similar to the relationship

between brave day and hideous night;

When I do count the clock that tells the time,

And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;

When I behold the violet past prime,

And sable curls all silver’d o’er with white; (1-4)

When lofty trees I see barren of leaves

Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,

And summer’s green all girded up in sheaves

Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, (5-8)

Then of thy beauty do I question make,

That thou among the wastes of time must go,

Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake

And die as fast as they see others grow; (9-12)

In the last couplet, Shakespeare considers time as a cruel tyrant claiming that nothing can

stand against it and it is perceived as one of the worst and most powerful matters in the world.

As it elapses, time devastates everything and kills them in the end, thus, he accuses time of

killing as well as devastating without being able to do any act against it due to its power.

And nothing ‘gainst Time’s scythe (sıhayt) can make defence

Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence. (13-14)

“In Sonnet 12: Generally, Shakespeare presents a series of images suggesting the passing of

time and the ageing and decaying of living things. Observing how everything decays and dies,

Shakespeare begins to question the Fair Youth’s beauty, which he has been praising till now:

even the Youth, young as he is now, will grow old and die (A Short Analysis of Shakespeare’s

Sonnet 12).”

Furthermore, in sonnet 19; Shakespeare directly approaches time by saying “Devouring Time”

in that it ravages all things in nature as they age. He begs it to leave his love “in thy course”,

and this means that he wants his beloved untouched since he does not want to lose her beauty.

Hence, Shakespeare’s real struggle against time can be seen from the second quatrain till the

last line as he begs and wants to prevent time from converting light into dark, since he say

“But I forbid thee one more heinous crime”. “Arguably the most notable feature of this

Sonnet is that it is not directly addressing the Fair Youth or just a narrative of the former's

beauty, but a decidedly desperate plea levelled at Time to spare the Youth (Mahwite 1).”

Besides, similarity between devouring time and lion’s paws can be seen in the first line as

both of them have devastating and murdering duties.

Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws,

 And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;

Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws,

And burn the long-liv'd Phoenix in her blood;

Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleets,

And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time,

To the wide world and all her fading sweets;

But I forbid thee one more heinous crime:

O, carve not with the hours my love's fair brow,

Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen!

Him in thy course untainted do allow

For beauty's pattern to succeeding men.

Yet do thy worst, old Time! Despite thy wrong

My love shall in my verse ever live young. (1-14)

In this sonnet, Shakespeare tries to protect his beloved from the passing circle of time, and

he thinks his beloved must stay young and beautiful no matter what happens to other figures

in the world due to time factor. He fears and warns time not to leave wrinkles on the face of

his beloved while it passes. Therefore, his responsiveness to the swift passage of time

represents his struggling position besides his faithfulness towards his beloved. Such a

loyalty to a beauty cannot be prevented by anything, because it is a powerful feeling in

which major matters are love, sexuality and attraction. So, war of power in addition to war

between the poet and time may be noticed in this sonnet.

In Sonnet 64, the poet personifies time by using the exploration of “Time’s fell hand” in the

first line of first quatrain. Even most indestructible things in nature are susceptible to time for

it is more powerful and more forceful than everything. Nevertheless, the thought of this
sonnet is universal as even death which cannot be prevented might be considered as slave

under the power and authority of time figure.

About death issue,” the poet records his reactions to seeing the elaborate monuments to the

dead in churches, which, are subject to decay and destruction. This prompts him to consider

that his beloved will also be subject to the same forces, a thought which adds a deep sadness

to the unclouded joy of loving.(Shakepeare’s Sonnets- Sonnet LXIV)”

When I have seen by Time's fell hand defaced

The rich proud cost of outworn buried age;

When sometime lofty towers I see down-razed,

And brass eternal slave to mortal rage;

When I have seen the hungry ocean gain

Advantage on the kingdom of the shore,

And the firm soil win of the watery main,

Increasing store with loss, and loss with store; (1-8)

Shakespeare represents the impermanence of everything because of time and even a strong

state which has a great authority may be a victim under the power of time in third quatrain.

This can be supported by the idea everything in the world are temporary and they will

disappear in the end when something new has replaced them. In the last 4 lines, it is explored

that the poet is worried about an issue of which major concern is his beloved. He fears that

time will take away his beloved too. Nevertheless, he declares that he fears but he cannot do

anything against time factor as he is like any other figures under its authority. A contradictory

idea is described at this point unlike the idea in Sonnet 19, he laments and struggles against

time but in this sonnet he indicates that he will lament but will not do anything because of

time’s dominance.
When I have seen such interchange of state,

Or state itself confounded to decay;

Ruin hath taught me thus to ruminate

That Time will come and take my love away.

This thought is as a death which cannot choose

But weep to have that which it fears to lose. (9-14)

In conclusion, time is a basic issue as well as many themes in Sonnets in which Shakespeare’s

struggle against destroyer time can be noticed. Besides four sonnets that are dealt with in this

paper, abstract nature and authority of time are seen in many other sonnets because it is

regarded as a cruel tyrant. On the one hand he begs time to leave his beloved young and

beautiful; on the other hand, it can be concluded that he condemns time for it kills and

devastates everything in the universe, most importantly his beloved. Even if Shakespeare may

establish some contradictory ideas in some points by his imagination, these ideas do not

change the fact that Shakespeare is in war with time owing to its swift passage and he puts the

blame on it because of its duties such as destroying, aging and ultimately killing. Therefore,

these sonnets mirror poet’s challenging attitude and suffering position against time by

referring to natural explanations in the universe.

.

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