Sonnet 73
By Shakespeare
Shakespeare wrote Sonnet 73 in the early 1600’s
during the Elizabethan Era to his male lover.
This sonnet is part of a set (sonnets 18-126)
where he expresses his love for a young man.
Some people believe these poems were
platonic, others say they were romantic.
In sonnet 73 Shakespeare is the speaker of the
poem. He is the narrator talking to the intended
audience. The intended audience is believed to
be his male lover, Earl of Southampton.
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.
In me thou seest 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.
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
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
The narrator is at the end of his life and is going
to die. His lover is young and full of life. It isn’t
sensible for the young lover to love him
anymore because he is so old. In the end
though, the young lover loves him more because
he knows they only have a little time left
together. Basically in this poem, Shakespeare is
saying that age shouldn’t matter in true love.
The poem was controversial being it wasn’t
known that it was written to a man. Also it
wasn’t normal for a 20 year old to be in love
with a 60 year old. His poem could also seems
like a parody of Petrachi form. This is because
the poem contains a male muse rather than a
female one.
Today this poem could be relevant and
important because the divorce rate is high and
he is saying that age shouldn’t matter in true
love. That because he is old and dying the
young lover loves him even more knowing that
their time together is going to end soon. His
poem talks about love so true that it doesn’t
stop even with death near.