The Motif of Time in Shakespeare's Sonnet 19
Essay: The Motif of Time in Shakespeare's Sonnet 19
Time may well be the most confusing, incomprehensible and paradox matter in our universe. There seems to be no possibility of influencing it in any way and we have to accept that it will always follow its own course. While most would agree, William Shakespeare - in his own way - was different. In his Sonnet 19, his lyrical I even tries to stop it, this unstoppable force that alters and consumes everything, this "Devouring time"1, as it is called in the first verse.
Enveloped in the usual Shakespearian structure of the sonnet, the (female) lyrical I allows time to do whatever it wishes with the world, but forbids it to consume one thing: Her lover's beauty. As usual for the Shakespearian Sonnet, it consists of 3 quatrains and a closing couplet. Usually, these four sub-units present themselves as thematical blocks, suggesting a certain independence from each other and sometimes even a contrast, but we cannot deny that the basic, four-part sonnet structure has not changed since the day it was created. Embedding the human perception of time in such a structure, we are faced by a twofold demonstration of unalterableness and superiority. Therefore, it seems to be the natural conclusion that the lyrical I adresses "Time"2 as it would adress one of the deities found in several sonnets of Shakespeare's and others'. It goes without saying that the characteristic four-part structure of a sonnet can have a great variety of worldly counterparts, be it the four elements, the four archangels or the four temperaments. In Sonnet 19, the lyrical I makes the association quite obvious: "Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet'st"3. If we assume that each part of the sonnet corresponds with one of the seasons, the connection between the endless and elusive concept of time is limited to the human perspective: Each part of the sonnet corresponds with a stage of life. In the first quatrain, time is presented as the
Time may well be the most confusing, incomprehensible and paradox matter in our universe. There seems to be no possibility of influencing it in any way and we have to accept that it will always follow its own course. While most would agree, William Shakespeare - in his own way - was different. In his Sonnet 19, his lyrical I even tries to stop it, this unstoppable force that alters and consumes everything, this "Devouring time"1, as it is called in the first verse.
Enveloped in the usual Shakespearian structure of the sonnet, the (female) lyrical I allows time to do whatever it wishes with the world, but forbids it to consume one thing: Her lover's beauty. As usual for the Shakespearian Sonnet, it consists of 3 quatrains and a closing couplet. Usually, these four sub-units present themselves as thematical blocks, suggesting a certain independence from each other and sometimes even a contrast, but we cannot deny that the basic, four-part sonnet structure has not changed since the day it was created. Embedding the human perception of time in such a structure, we are faced by a twofold demonstration of unalterableness and superiority. Therefore, it seems to be the natural conclusion that the lyrical I adresses "Time"2 as it would adress one of the deities found in several sonnets of Shakespeare's and others'. It goes without saying that the characteristic four-part structure of a sonnet can have a great variety of worldly counterparts, be it the four elements, the four archangels or the four temperaments. In Sonnet 19, the lyrical I makes the association quite obvious: "Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleet'st"3. If we assume that each part of the sonnet corresponds with one of the seasons, the connection between the endless and elusive concept of time is limited to the human perspective: Each part of the sonnet corresponds with a stage of life. In the first quatrain, time is presented as the