Sonnet 19 Figurative Language

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Time. Time is a metaphysical predator that preys off of the living. As one progressively ages, Time-a looming reminder of one’s inevitable death- drains the youth from the body before they fall upon the red tawny-patterned earth. However, how could one stop such a heinous action?. As demonstrated in William Shakespeare's Sonnet 19, his homosexual lover was capable of remaining youthful through the verse of poetry. While the author attempts to immortalize his beloved, it appears as if Time is the unconquerable. Yet, later in the poem, he becomes aware that he has power over Time. Through his utilization of sonnet structure, well-noted poet William Shakespeare demonstrates the speaker’s surprise power over time. In the initial quatrain,…show more content…
As he begins to set the premise of his argument, Shakespeare explicitly uses words such as “fierce”, “keen”, and “long-livd” to demonstrate to the reader the brute strength of theses animals. Shakespeare purposefully presents Time’s victims in such a manner to establish its power over all living organisms. While the lion, tiger, and phoenix are powerful beings, Time has domain over all living things despite whatever tools its victims might possess. However, as the poem progresses the final lines, the speaker commands Time not to age his lover; boldly, asserting that he will live on through the verses of the Sonnet. Ironically, after the use of beast-like diction and animistic imagery used to establish the power of time, the speaker undermines Time’s the ability to “slaughter” all living beings; thus, emphasizing the shock of his power of…show more content…
While Time is capable of deteriorating animals, it is the primary reason for the passage of the seasons on “the wide world” (Shakespeare 2.2). As the speaker further expands on his aforementioned argument, he declares,”Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleets, / And do what’er thou wilt, swift-footed Time, / To the Wide world and all of her fading Sweets,”(Shakespeare ) In the quotation, there is a emphasize on the passage of time during each turn of the seasons who are “glad and sorry [...] as [time] fleets” (Shakespeare 2.1) . As an inexorable progression, Time is the natural progression of the seasonal life cycle. To the seasons, they comprehend that their death is ineluctable. So, rather attempting to delay the inevitable, the seasons merely accept their morality. Because of this fact, there is a distinct image of the seasons gradually changing. As Time “fleets” away, the seasons wither and die as they become the “Wide World[‘s] [...] fading sweets” (Shakespeare 2.3). By expanding upon the preceding point of Time’s power, the writer constructs a “build up” the ironic twist revealed in the last

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