SONNET 73

That time of year thou may'st in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day,
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by-and-by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.
   This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
   To love that well which thou must leave ere long.

This sonnet is part of a collection that Shakespeare wrote for a man that he called fair youth or W.H. It displays the typical Elizabethan structure because just considering the layout the reader can identify a rhyming couplet closing the sonnet. Considering the structure of sonnet 73 it is made up into three quatrains and a rhyming couplet. In the first stanza the speaking voice is refearing to somebody and he is describing the autumn, the time of the year of everything ends. Leaves turn yellow and fall from the trees.  In the second stanza the lyrical I say that he is like the end of the day when sun sets and starts the evening. Then comes the night that is represent like amber death. In the third stanza the poet uses the image of the fire that lies among the ashes of youth. In the rhyming couple the speaking voice says that this is what he might love more because in a few times he will live and maybe die. In every stanza is reported the words “in me” to underline the important presence of the speaking voice in the sonnet. The words cold, night, death, ashes, consumed reminds that the poet is in the latest stage of his life. There is an alliteration in lines 7 and 8. The message is that every person gets older with the passing of years but it’s a natural thing.