Sonnet 73 Questions and Answers (Marks 6)| Class 12 4th semester English | written by William Shakespeare
1. “That time of year thou mayst in me behold/When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang – Why does the poet mention ‘yellow leaves, or none, or few’? How does this imagery reflect the poet’s feelings about ageing and life?
During late autumn, leaves become yellow and falls off the branches, leaving the tree almost bare. The poet feels that with the passage of time his life has also become like the season and his youthful beauty and vitality is fading away, Thus here he compares his youth to yellow leaves and uses none, or few to show how it is fading away with time.
Being at his old age, the poet realises ageing is a natural process of life, and it takes away the youthful vitality. Thus he uses the imagery of late autumn, when the trees lose its leaves, just like how he is losing his youthful energy. He gets aware of the fact that he is nearning the end of his cycle of life. The late autumn mirrors the poet’s own sense of ageing and awareness of mortality.
2. When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang/Upon those boughs which shake against the cold.”-Who says this and to whom? What do the ‘shaking boughs’ suggest in the quoted lines?
The mentioned line is found in William Shakespeare‘s Sonnet 73.
Here, the speaker is the poet, Shakespeare himself. The season mentioned here is late autumn or early winter.
This quoted line is a reference to late autumn, when there is a total decay in the world of nature. Most of the leaves have fallen under the touch of time, and only a lew yellow ones remain in the trees. The poet uses this to show how he himself is nearing death, Just like ange that has lost its leaves, he feels that his youthful strangth and energy are fading away. The phrase also suggests loneliness and the inevitable passing of time. By comparing himself to the bare and lifeless tree, the poet here expresses a sense of sadness, At the same time he accepts life’s natural cycle where youth eventually gives way to old age.
3. When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang/Upon those boughs which shake against the cold.”-Who says this and to whom? What do the ‘shaking boughs’ suggest in the quoted lines?
The poor says this to his beloved young friend in Sonnet 73.
The shaking boughs of the trees suggest fragility and gradual decay of life force. The empty branches left with only a few yellow leaves are the sure indication of the poet’s ageing and his approaching death, The bare branches that are shaken by the cold winds, evoke the idea of physical weakness as well as the crises that one faces due to old age disease, frailty, the fear of approaching death, loneliness and desolation. Thus, the imagery used here depicts the inevitability of death and fleeting nature of time.
4. Bare ruin’d choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. sweet birds sing and when? Explain the imagery.
Here “late’ means “hear the end of the day The song birds sang sweetly on the branches when they were once covered with grean leivos.
The poet here uses the imagery of branches like bare ruined choirs’ to represent his own ageing and loss of youthful vitality and vigour with the passage of time The branches on which the sweet birds sang and which were full of leaves are now empty and foless like a ruined church. The phrase may also imply a place in the church where young boys used to sing psalms or devotional songs At present it is in ruins and is abandoned. Thus, the line depicts the speaker’s inner state of and melancholy and the fear of approaching death. The imagery also highlights the fleeting nature of life.
5. What conceit does the poet establish in the second quatrain of ‘Sonnet 73’?
In the second quatrain of ‘Sonnet 73, Shakespeare compares himself to the twilight. He says that he is on the fisding light that we got to see just after sunset, when the sky gets darker and the night comes. Just as twilight slowly disappears, the poet feels his energy and time are also slipping away.
The imagery of night in the poem also stands for death, which is slowly approaching the poet. His life is just like the hwilight before the complete darkness of nightfalls. This soft, tading light of twilight creates a quiet and sad feeling, making the readers think about how time quickly moves forward.
This conceit helps readers understand the poet’s feelings about ageing and how he is running out of time. It makes us think deeply about how every day just like our lives, has a beginning, a mid point, and an end. Shakespeare thus uses nature to express his deep emotions, making the poem touching and meaningful.
6. In me thou see’st the twilight of such day / As after sunset fadeth in the west,” -What does twilight” symbolise here? Why can ‘twilight’ be seen in the poet? What does the expression ‘fadeth in the west mean? Explain the lines in your own words.
Twilight is the soft light that we see in the sky just after the sunset and before it fades into the darkness of the night. Here, it symbolises the process of ageing that ultimately leads a person to his death.
The poet acknowledges that he has lost his youthful vitality, beauty and is nearing the end of his life due to the relentless passing of time. Therefore, he thinks that his companion can see in him the gradual ending of his life. symbolised by the twilight’
The expression fadeth in the west’ means after the setting of the sun in the western sky the glowing twilight also fades away and eventually disappears into the darkness
In these lines, the poet compares his life with twilight. Twilight indicates the fading of daylight and the approaching of night. In the same way losing the brightness and vitality of youth the poet is nearing the end of his site The imagery used here highlights the brielness of human life and imminent death. The poet’s tone here is one of gloomy and melancholic.
7. In me thou see’st the twilight of such day. / As after sunset fadeth in the west.” – How does the poet use the image of sunset to convey the theme of ageing? Explain how this imagery connects to the overall message of the sonnet.
Twilight is the fading light that is seen in the sky between sunset and night. It symbolises the fading of daylight before the darkness of night falls on the earth With the help of this image, the poet acknowledges that like the sunset, his youthful passion and vitality are fading This also indicates the gradual approaching of darkness which is similar to the gradual process of ageing.
Sonnet 73 explores the theme of unstoppable passage of time and the inevitability of ageing and death, With the passing of time, a man loses his youthful beauty. and vitality The images of twilight and sunset thus highlights the gradual decline from the brightness of youth to the darkness of death. Thus the imagery effortlessly connects to the overall message of the sonnet.
8. Which by and by black night doth take away”- What does ‘which’ refer to here? What does by and by mean? What is symbolised by ‘black night? Explain the quoted line.
Here ‘which refers to the twilight, the symbol of approaching darkness as well as the gradual ending of lite.
By and by means gradually or eventually, suggesting the gradual process of ageing
“Black night here symbolises death. After sunset darkness of the night engulls the land and the daylight soon tades away. Similarly, one day death will also snatch away the poet’s ille and then he will be in complete rest.
The beauty and brightness of the day gradually fade away as the night arrives. Black night’ thus takes away the light and energy of the day, bringing peace and rest instead. Symbolically, referring to the inevitable mortality, the night, the symbol of death, takes away all the youth, energy and vitality of life and brings eternal rest.
9. Death’s second self, that seals up all in rest.” What does the poet mean by ‘Death’s second self’? How does it seal up all in rest?
In this line from Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 73′, the poet metaphorically calls sleep Death’s second self’, During sleep, all life activities temporarily stop, as we take rest. Death, on the other hand, is the ultimate end of life and it gives us efemal rest. So, in order to bring out the similarity, sleep has been compared to death.
When the night falls, darkness spreads everywhere. making everything quiet and still People stop working, everyone goes to sleep, and the world rests. Night seals up all in rest by closing the day, allowing all living things. to relax and recharge. While death brings eternal rest and the end of life, sleep provides us rest for a short period of time.
10. Explain the metaphor in the third quatrain of “Sonnet 73′.
in the third quatrain of “Sonnet 73, Shakespeare uses a metaphor comparing his lite to a dying fire. He says that his body and spirit are like the glowing embers that are slowly turning to ashes. Just as a fire burns brightly at first but fades over time, the poet feels his energy and strength are disappearing, as he grows older. This shows that, no matter how bright one’s life was in his youth, it would eventually come to an end.
As the fire goes out when the wood which has been fueling it, is finished, ille also ends when the strength of the youth is over. This metaphor helps us see how time slowly takes away youth and strength. Throughout the sonnet, Shakespeare uses powerful images from nature to make his message clear-ife eventually fades, but understanding this makes love even more meaningful. It is a powerful image that helps readers feel the truth about ageing and time.
11. in me thou see at the glowing of such fire/That on the ashes of his youth doth lile,What does “the glowing of such fire signify here? Where does it lie and how? What does the ‘ashes of his youth mean?
The expression ‘glowing of such fire signifies the remains of the poet’s once-vibrant youth, which is now tumed into glowing embers. It symbolises the declining vitality of his life,
As the blazing fire of the poet’s youth is now reduced to the embers of old age, it is now lying on the ashes of the poet’s youthful vituality, When he was young, his energy and spint were strong, like a bright flame, Now that he has aged, those strong feelings have weakened, like a dying fire resting on burned ashes,
Just as a fire tums into ashes after consuming its fuel, the poet’s youthful days too have passed, leaving only memories behind. Thus, the poet uses ‘ashes of his youth to refer to the bygone days of his youth. These ashes symbolise the experiences and joys of his younger life, The poet understands that his youth has faded, and he is left with only the remains of that time.
12. “As the death-bed, whereon it must expire,” What does the poet mean by ‘death-bed’?
The word death-bed in Sonnet 73 points out the certainty of death that brings an end to life. Death is inevitable (unavoidable) and invincible (unbeatable) in any man’s life, and everyone has to accept it. In the quoted line, the poet has compared his state to a dying fire, The same fuel that had fed the fire and made it a blazing fame has now burnt out, The heap of ashes left behind is now slowly extinguishing the dying embers. The poet has referred to this bed of ashes as death-bed. It symbolises the fading away of his youthful vigour and vitality. The old age where the poet struggles unsteadily in the face of disease, pain, frailty, desolation, and the thoughts of looming death that would wipe out his very existence any moment has now takon its place.
13. ” it must expire,” -What does it refer to? Why must it expire?
in this line, it refers to the fire that is dying under the ashes produced by the buming of full. This dying fire represents the weakening lite force of the poet. The poet becomes old and realizes that death is approaching him.
The fire must expire’ because the fuel that had been leeding the fire has burnt out. The blazing fire has been reduced to dying embers under the heap of ashes. Similarly, the poet’s life must end one day. The poet uses the metaphor of the dying fire to illustrate that old age with its complications, sufferings and frailty is wiping out the life force that remains in the poet. He has lost his youthful vigour and energy and now he helplessly witnessing death approaching him, The phrase ‘must expire’ highlights the Inevitability of death and man’s helpless acceptance of his mortality.
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