Position:Home>Poetry> Help explaining Shakespeare Poem????

He is comparing the change of the seasons and their effects on nature to how we (people) change as we age!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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I am in the fall/winter or my life!. I am in the twilit of my life, the sun is setting but i haven't died yet!. You can see that in me and love me the more for it, your love is stronger then that of a woman for a young man because you know time if fleeting with meWww@QuestionHome@Com

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1st 5 lines: I am old

2nd 5 lines: I am going to die soon!.
The glow & "second self" I believe refers to the soul/spirit!. It still gives him life!.

Lines 11 & 12: Love/ affection will consume his body

Last two lines: You see this, (dying), & love me still!. This means your love is strong to love someone who soon will be gone!.

I think Buk & T!.D!. are both right!. Mate their theories together & see what come out!. Choosing to love a dying old man shows your love him greatly!.
The EndWww@QuestionHome@Com

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In this one, Wild Bill is saying to a young girl, "Hey, Baby, my tree may look bare, but, I am still oaken!."Www@QuestionHome@Com

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Sleep is like death, and replenishes old souls!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

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The sonnet is the third in the group of four which reflect on the onset of age!. It seems that it is influenced partly by lines from Ovid's Metamorphoses, however the verbal parallels are somewhat sparse!. Shakespeare's presentation is much more individualistic and cannot easily be attributed to any one mould or influence!.
It is worth noting that, if the sonnet were written in 1600, Shakespeare would only have been 36, and it is quite probable that it was written before that date!. An age that we would not consider to be the threshold of old age!.
The group of four sonnets, of which this is the third, begins with a putative skirmish with death and finality, so that it is in a sense merely thematic within that group to discuss the autumn of one's years, which will shortly lead to parting and separation!. We can therefore allow that it uses some poetic licence in painting a gloomy portrayal of the withered tree!.
Nevertheless it is slightly surprising that the statements are so definite and uncompromising!. This is how he is now, it is not some prognostication of decay, or a brief glimpse forwards to some imaginary time!. The picture is more like that of age on his death-bed, of the autumn tree, of the onset of night, of the actuality of dying!.

Link below will give line-by-line 'translation' and commentary!.!.!.!.

Hope this helps!

:))Www@QuestionHome@Com

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First of all, keep in mind that the speaker of the poem is a fictional character, not William Shakespeare himself!. It's dangerous to assume that every poem written in the first person is intended to be about the speaker!. also, Shakespeare wrote very little "seduction" poetry - that was more the purview of Donne, Herrick, Marvel, Lovelace, etc - so this is probably not a poem about physical/erotic love, but about a deeper, more spiritual love!.

This is a typical Shakespearean sonnet, composed of three quatrains (four line stanzas) and a couplet!. Let's break it down!.

Quatrain 1!.
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang!.

The speaker is describing himself using an analogy!. He is like the autumn season, almost winter - bare trees, no birds singing!. He's referring to both his appearance - balding, shaking - and his art - he's having a hard time writing poetry, just as the birds are no longer singing!.

Quatrain 2!.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest!.

The speaker shifts slightly and compares himself to a time of day - twilight fading into night!. The sun hasn't quite set yet, but it's descending very rapidly!. This is the time of drifting into sleep, "Death's second self!." Eventually, he will be gone!.

Quatrain 3!.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by!.

The speaker shifts again and compares himself to a dying fire - it's not completely out, but all that's left are embers!. He sees the "ashes of his youth," and perhaps wonders if he wasted or squandered the earlier years of his life!. Now he is consumed and made tired by the things which once nourished him - art, love, etc!.

These three quatrains set up the "problem" of the poem - inevitably, we all grown old and eventually die!. The couplet demonstrates a turn (also called a "volta"), which is a shift in tone, and attempts to create a resolution to the problem!.

Couplet!.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong
To love that well which thou must leave ere long!.

The speaker acknowledges that his younger beloved can see his decline into old age and eventually death, yet that person remains with him!. He concludes that love is even more powerful and meaningful when you know that the object of your love will soon be taken from you!. The fact that he is loved so well by someone who recognizes his imminent death takes away some of the pain and disappointment that comes with aging!.

There's another resolution implicit in the poem - the speaker believes his art and talent to be gone, yet he wrote this beautiful and moving sonnet!. Even though he will die, his art will live on, and so he achieves a kind of immortality!.

So here are some things you can agree or disagree with:

- Is old age like winter!? Like night!? Like a dying fire!?
- Is love more powerful when you know that what you love will soon be taken from you!?
- Does being loved make aging and death less difficult!?


EDIT: Why am I getting a thumbs down for this!? Did I hurt someone's feelings or something!?Www@QuestionHome@Com

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