The Connection Between Nature and Metaphors in Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73.

Shakespeare was the most well-known drama writer in England. He had an impact for
everyone in his age and in nowadays too. His literary works are acknowledged everywhere in
the world and have been translated into every significant language. He wrote plays, sonnets,
narrative poems and also some other verses. I would like to write about one of his most beautiful
sonnets: the Sonnet 73. In my essay I am going to write about the connection between nature
and the metaphors in this poem. I have chosen this opus, because it has a unique feeling and it
has a high poetic value.

Shakespeare’s sonnets were published in 1609 and included 154 poems. Every sonnet
include 14 lines, have a special rhyme pattern and had written in an iambic pentameter rhythmic
pattern. The poems are dealing with topics like love, beauty, poetry or the passing of time and
was written to the "dark lady" or to the "fair youth". These figures are undiscovered still today.
They could be real people, for example “…’Mr W. H.’ would seem to be the young man to
whom Shakespeare addressed his sonnets. He could be Henry Wriothesley…or some other
young patron altogether unknown to us” (Halliday 250). However, this "fair youth" could be
just the authorial "I".

Sonnet 73 is one of the most famous sonnets written by William Shakespeare. And not
without reason: for instance “Rowse, p. 149, calls this sonnet “extremely beautiful and much
admired…” (Martin 80). It is addressed to the writer’s “young friend”, and he tries to prepare
his friend to death. Although not for the death of body, instead the “death” of his youth. As a
consequence, the main topic of this poetry is the coming of old age, the closeness of death and
these effects on our life. As Thomas Wright and Stuart G. Brown have summarized it: “You
know that I am growing old; therefore you love me more, since you must soon leave me.”
(Willen, Reed 269). During the three quatrains the writer uses three main metaphors to illustrate
the passing of time. This is the reason, why this sonnet has many different interpretations.
Somewhat each of these three metaphors are connected to the nature. In the first one, the poet
compares himself to autumn, when the trees are bare of leaves, birds have left their trees and
weather become cold. In this quatrain, Shakespeare expresses his feelings, about death and its
uncertainty time, via nature. The poet identifies the cold season, the winter, with death, and
states that autumn followed by winter, even as old ages followed by death.

In the second quatrains he also images death twice in two different metaphors. First one
is again from nature, and it is a traditional metaphor for the end of our life. Twilight, the end of

1
a day, can be compared to the end of life. His death is coming as darkness comes after sunset.
Overall, the poet feels the closeness of his passing and identify it by the dark night metaphor.
Secondary metaphor is "Death's second self" (Willen, Reed 75), which hint to sleep, as the
“death” of everyday.

The last quatrains vivify one more natural phenomenon: the fire. However, this fire is
just smoulder but allude to death again. The writer compares himself to the slowly extinguished
fire and this fire is fuelled by his love for youth. This part of the sonnet is completely reveals
that Shakespeare is wiring about the death of youth and not about the physical death.

Every sonnets’ last two lines are a couplet and in Sonnet 73’s case it addressed to the
young man. The speaker tries to explain that he will separate from the young man, and after a
while, they will not meet again. So, he has to understand the meaning of the poem and love the
writer more than ever, because his youth is flown away, and death is more and more
approximate. Meanwhile the speaker’s love of his youth is more and more strong. It is important
to mention that this couplet is suitable only with the third quatrains, because in those lines he
explain the way of his leave. Along with that metaphor, we can look at the couplet as an
incentive for love.

All in all we can say that Shakespeare Sonnet 73 is an amazing literary work, which
based on three main metaphor. These metaphors are connected to natural phenomenon and
represent theirs similarities to the advent of death. The main purpose of using these metaphors
are explaining the fast passing of youth, addressed to the "fair youth". Personally, I love this
opus, because it has a very deep meaning and draws our attention to the importance of our youth
and its appreciation. We have to appreciate every minute of our life, especially young ages, and
the time, we can spend with our loved ones. This poem is a really nice expression of this
feelings. At the same time it stands in front of us “…as a contrast between the melancholy
aspect of old age and the joys of youth” (Willen, Reed 269)