19 pages • 38 minutes read
William ShakespeareSonnet 73
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1609A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Seasons
All three symbols—seasons, night, and fire—relate to each other because they are all symbols for the aging process.
Specifically regarding seasons, the poem uses the transition between fall and winter to illustrate the feeling of decay that Shakespeare believes accompanies aging: “That time of year thou mayst in me behold / When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang” (Lines 1-2). Wintertime is cold and brings death to the natural world, and Shakespeare wants the reader to associate what happens to the world with what happens to the physical body as it ages. Just as the trees lose their leaves, a person might lose his or her hair. Just as branches “shake against the cold” (Line 3), the body might lose its youthful energy, strength, and warmth. Just as churches are abandoned and the birds stop singing, old age brings isolation, silence, and the loss of what once was.
Night
Shakespeare uses the “black night” (Line 7) to represent death, which is something he does in other sonnets and in plays as well. Shakespeare uses twilight to mimic the seasonal transition that came before, from fall to winter. Twilight is the transition from afternoon to night, so again, this symbol matches the transition from youth to old age that the poem concerns itself with.
An interesting moment in the poem is when Shakespeare writes that night “seals up all in rest” (Line 8). The word “seal” is notable here because it’s an unusual choice with a number of secondary meanings. It could refer to physically sealing something like a coffin or a will. Shakespeare is famous for these sorts of double meanings. Because of this, it’s always important when reading Shakespeare to consult other sources like the Oxford English Dictionary or Shakespeare scholars and critics to catch moments like this.
Fire
The final symbol is the burning fire: “In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire / That on the ashes of his youth doth lie” (Lines 9-10). Again, Shakespeare focuses on a moment of transition as he describes how the fire burns out. In this moment, the change is from light and warmth to cold and darkness. In this way, this final symbol incorporates the transitions from the first two symbols. The transition of seasons focused on warmth to cold, and the transition of time of day focused on light to dark. The fire does both of these things.
The fire also allows Shakespeare to play with the complexity of life and death. It is life that provides light and energy and warmth, but it is also life that fuels death, which is cold, lifeless, and dark. In a way, this is ironic, but it’s also depressing. Shakespeare is dramatizing the inevitable fate all people must face, which is a fate he finds tragic.
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By William Shakespeare
