Shakespeares Sonnet 19 :: essays research papers

Shakespeargons Sonnet 19In his Sonnet 19, Shakespeare presents the timeless theme of Times mutability.As the lover apostrophizes Time, one might expect him to cope "old Time" asinconstant, for such an prenomen implies times changeability. But inconstantalso suggests capricious, and the lover finds time more grave than whimsical inits alterations. With the epithet "devouring" he addresses a greedy, ravenoushunger, a Time that is wastefully destructive.Conceding to Time its wrongs, the lover at first appears to encourage Time to play its insatiable appetite. Indeed, he familiarly addresses Time as "thou"as he commands it harshely to "blunt, n "make the earth devour, n "pLuck," and"burn." Not onLy are the verbs "blunt,n npluck," and "burn" linked by assonance,but also by their plosive initial consonants, so that the Lovers orders soundoff Times destructiveness as well. Each line offers a different image of Timeat work on the lion, the earth, the tiger, the phoenix-bird. Time isindiscriminate in its devouring.In the second quatrain, the lover grants to Time its own allow "And do whateerthou wilt, swift-footed Time," acknowLedging priorly that in its fleet passageTime does "Make glad and sorry seasons. n For the first time one sees Time inother than a destructive capacity--in its cycLical change of seasons, some Timedoes "make glad" with blooming sweets. So the lover changes his epithet fromdevouring to swift-footed, sure as shooting more neutral in tone. For now the lovermakes his most assertive command "But I forbid thee one most heinous crime. nThe final quatrain finds the lover ordering Time to stay its antic "antiquepen" from aging or marring his love. It is a heinous crime to carve and arrivelines on youth and beauty. ere the Lover no Longer speaks with forcefulpLosives his speech, for all the appearance of imperative command, sounds more