Get summaries, questions, answers, solutions, notes, extras, PDF and guides for William Shakespeare’s poem That Time of Year (Sonnet 73): WBCHSE Class 12 English Literature textbook A Realm of English (B) Selection, which is part of the Semester IV syllabus for students studying under WBBSE (West Bengal Board-Uccha Madhyamik). These solutions, however, should only be treated as references and can be modified/changed.
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Summary
The poem’s speaker asks someone to see him as he truly is. He compares himself to a time of year, specifically late autumn. He says to look at the trees, which have only a few yellow leaves, or no leaves at all. The branches are bare and shake in the cold. He calls these branches “bare ruined choirs,” which is a metaphor. It means his body, once full of life and song like a church choir, is now old and quiet.
The speaker then compares himself to the end of a day. He is like the twilight, which is the soft light in the sky after the sun has set. The light is fading, and soon “black night” will arrive. He calls the night “Death’s second self.” This is a metaphor comparing the sleep of night to the final rest of death.
Next, the speaker compares himself to a dying fire. He is like the last glowing embers lying on a bed of ashes. The ashes are what is left of the wood that once fueled the fire. The fire is being smothered by the very thing that once gave it life. This is a metaphor for how his old age is using up the last of his youthful energy.
The speaker says that the person he is addressing sees these things. This person understands that his life is nearing its end. This knowledge makes their love for him stronger. They love him more deeply because they know they will have to part with him soon.
Line-by-Line Explanation
That time of year thou mayst in me behold,
The speaker is talking to a person he cares for, telling them to look at him and see a representation of a certain time of year. “Thou” is an old word for “you,” and “mayst” means “may.” He is asking this person to observe the stage of life he is currently in.
When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang / Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
He compares his current state to late autumn. Just as a tree in autumn has only a few yellow leaves left, or is completely bare, the speaker feels he has lost his youth and vitality. The “boughs” (large tree branches) that tremble in the cold wind represent his own physical weakness and fragility as he gets older.
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
The speaker calls the bare branches “bare ruined choirs.” A “choir” is an area in a church where singers gather. By comparing the branches to ruined choirs, he suggests that the place that was once filled with the beautiful music of birds (representing the joy and energy of his youth) is now empty and silent. The word “late” here means “recently,” indicating that the loss of his youth is still fresh.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day, / As after sunset fadeth in the west,
The speaker shifts his comparison from a season to a day. He says that his loved one can see in him the “twilight,” which is the dim light that remains in the sky after the sun has set. His life, like this fading light, is slowly coming to an end. “Fadeth” is an older way of saying “fades.”
Which by and by black night doth take away, / Death’s second self that seals up all in rest.
This fading twilight will soon be replaced by the complete darkness of “black night.” The speaker calls night “Death’s second self” because sleep, which comes at night, is a state of rest that resembles death. It “seals up” the world in stillness. This comparison shows that the speaker feels his own final rest, or death, is approaching quickly. “Doth” is an old form of the word “does.”
In me thou seest the glowing of such fire, / That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
He introduces a third image, comparing himself to a dying fire. He is not the bright, roaring fire he once was, but rather the last glowing embers. These embers are resting on the “ashes of his youth,” meaning the energy and passion of his younger days have been used up, leaving only these remnants behind.
As the death-bed, whereon it must expire, / Consumed with that which it was nourished by.
The ashes are described as the fire’s “death-bed,” the place where it will finally “expire” (die out). The speaker points out a contradiction: the fire is being “consumed” or destroyed by the very thing that “nourished” (fed) it. The wood that gave the fire life has turned into the ash that is now smothering its last flames. This suggests that life itself, and the time that has passed, is the cause of its own end.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
The speaker directly addresses his loved one again. He says that this person “perceiv’st” (perceives or understands) all these signs of his aging and approaching death. This understanding does not make the loved one’s affection weaker; instead, it causes their love to become stronger and more intense.
To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.
The poem concludes by explaining why the love has grown stronger. The loved one knows that they “must leave” the speaker “ere long” (soon), because he will pass away. The awareness that their time together is short makes the love they share more precious and deeply felt.
Textbook Solutions
1. Discuss the various images drawn by Shakespeare in Sonnet 73.
Answer: In Sonnet 73, Shakespeare uses a series of powerful images across three quatrains to illustrate the theme of aging and the approach of death.
The first quatrain presents the image of late autumn. The speaker asks the beloved to see him as that time of year when only a few yellow leaves, or perhaps none at all, are left hanging on the tree boughs. These branches are described as shaking in the cold, and are compared to bare ruined choirs where sweet birds once sang. This imagery evokes a sense of decay, coldness, and the loss of vitality and song, symbolising the end of a vibrant life.
The second quatrain shifts the imagery from the end of a year to the end of a day. Here, the speaker compares himself to the twilight that lingers after the sun has set in the west. This fading light is soon to be extinguished by the arrival of black night, which is personified as Death’s second self, a force that brings a final rest to all things. This image shortens the time frame, making the sense of an ending more immediate.
The third quatrain introduces the most intense and personal image, that of a dying fire. The speaker sees himself as the glowing embers of a fire that is lying on the ashes of its own youth. The fire is on its death-bed and is paradoxically being consumed by the very fuel that once nourished it. This image powerfully captures the idea that the process of living and the passions of youth inevitably lead to the exhaustion of life itself.
2. Explain how does the Sonnet form help the sonneteer to expand the theme in Sonnet 73
Answer: The traditional Shakespearean sonnet form, consisting of three quatrains and a concluding couplet, provides a perfect structure for the sonneteer to develop and expand the theme in Sonnet 73.
The structure of three distinct quatrains allows the poet to present three parallel metaphors for his advancing age and mortality. Each quatrain explores the theme from a different perspective: the first uses the image of late autumn, the second uses the image of twilight, and the third uses the image of a dying fire. This progression allows for an intensification of the theme. The time scale narrows from a season to a day to the last moments of a fire, bringing the idea of the end closer and making it feel more personal and imminent. This methodical development in the quatrains builds a powerful and multifaceted argument about the speaker’s state of decline.
The concluding couplet provides the crucial “turn” or volta in the poem’s argument. After spending twelve lines detailing his decay, the speaker shifts focus from himself to the beloved’s reaction. The couplet reveals that the beloved’s perception of this impending end does not lead to despair, but instead makes their love stronger. It introduces the profound idea that love can be intensified by the awareness of mortality. Therefore, the sonnet form allows the poet to first establish a problem or a situation in the quatrains and then offer a resolution, a new insight, or a poignant conclusion in the final couplet, thereby expanding the theme from a simple lament on aging to a complex and moving statement on the relationship between love and loss.
Additional Questions and Answers
1. What season does the speaker compare himself to in the first quatrain?
Answer: The speaker compares himself to the late autumn season. He asks the listener to see in him that time of year when yellow leaves, or very few, or none at all, hang on the boughs. These branches are described as shaking against the cold, which signifies the end of a cycle.
2. What are the “bare ruined choirs”? Where did the sweet birds once sing?
Answer: The “bare ruined choirs” are a metaphor for the leafless branches of the trees. They are described as ruined because they are empty and silent, much like the part of a church where a choir would sing, but which has now fallen into ruin.
The sweet birds once sang upon these very boughs, which are now bare and cold.
3. How does the speaker describe the boughs in the first stanza?
Answer: The speaker describes the boughs as shaking against the cold. He notes that they have either yellow leaves, or none, or just a few still hanging on. He also refers to them as bare ruined choirs, which were once lively places where sweet birds used to sing.
4. What time of day is used as a metaphor for the speaker’s life?
Answer: The time of day used as a metaphor for the speaker’s life is twilight. He says that in him, one can see the twilight of a day, which is the time after the sunset fades in the west. This period comes just before the complete darkness of night.
5. What is “Death’s second self”? What does it do to “all in rest”?
Answer: “Death’s second self” is a metaphor for black night. Night is compared to death because it brings darkness and sleep, which is a temporary state of rest that resembles death.
This black night, or “Death’s second self,” is said to take everything away and seal up all in rest, bringing a final end to the day’s activities.
6. What is the third metaphor the speaker uses to describe his state?
Answer: The third metaphor the speaker uses to describe his state is that of a glowing fire that is near its end. He says that in him, one can see the glowing of a fire that is dying out, lying on the ashes of the fuel that once kept it burning.
7. What does the fire lie upon? What does this image represent?
Answer: The fire lies upon the ashes of its youth. This image represents the speaker’s old age. The ashes are the remains of the youthful energy and passion that once fueled his life, and now the fire of his life is about to be extinguished on these very remains.
8. Explain the paradox in the line “Consumed with that which it was nourished by.”
Answer: The paradox is that the fire is being destroyed by the very thing that gave it life and strength. The fire was nourished by wood, but as the wood burns, it turns to ash. These ashes then smother the fire, causing it to expire, or be consumed.
9. What does the beloved perceive in the speaker? What is the consequence of this perception?
Answer: The beloved perceives that the speaker is in the final stage of his life, as shown by the metaphors of autumn, twilight, and a dying fire. The beloved understands that the speaker’s time is short.
The consequence of this perception is that it makes the beloved’s love for the speaker stronger and more intense.
10. What is the central message of the final couplet?
Answer: The central message of the final couplet is that understanding that loss is near makes love stronger. When the beloved perceives that the speaker will not be around for long, it causes them to love more deeply and to value the short time they have left together.
23. What is the role of the beloved in the poem? How does their perception and love transform the speaker’s lament into a statement about love itself?
Answer: The role of the beloved in the poem is that of the observer and the subject to whom the speaker’s argument is addressed. The beloved, referred to as “thou,” is the one who perceives the speaker’s decline, and this perception is central to the poem’s meaning.
The speaker repeatedly directs the beloved’s attention to his aging state with phrases like “thou mayst in me behold” and “In me thou seest.” The beloved is not just a listener but an active perceiver whose understanding is the key to the poem’s conclusion. The entire description of decay through the metaphors of autumn, twilight, and a dying fire is presented for the beloved to see and comprehend.
The beloved’s perception and love are what transform the poem from a simple lament about getting old into a profound statement about the nature of love. The transformation occurs in the final couplet, where the speaker reveals the effect of his decay on the beloved. The beloved’s perception of this decay (“This thou perceiv’st”) does not lead to sorrow or rejection but instead “makes thy love more strong.” This reaction changes the entire message. It suggests that true love is not diminished by mortality but is, in fact, made more precious and powerful by the knowledge that time is limited. The beloved’s love gives a positive and meaningful purpose to the speaker’s aging process.
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