Shakespeares Sonnet 19 :: essays research papers

Shakespeares Sonnet 19In his Sonnet 19, Shakespeare presents the timeless penning of durations mutability.As the lover apostrophizes Time, one might expect him to address " experienced Time" asinconstant, for such an cognomen implies times changeability. But inconstant similarly suggests capricious, and the lover finds time to a greater extent grave than whimsical inits alterations. With the epithet "devouring" he addresses a greedy, ravenoushunger, a Time that is prodigally destructive.Conceding to Time its wrongs, the lover at first appears to encourage Time tosatisfy its insatiable appetite. Indeed, he familiarly addresses Time as " railway yard"as he look out overs 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 too by their plosive initial consonants, so that the Lovers orders soundoff Times destructiveness as we ll. 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 indorsement quatrain, the lover grants to Time its own will "And do whateerthou wilt, swift-footed Time," acknowLedging priorly that in its fleet passageTime does "Make cheering 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, certainly 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 " passepen" from aging or marring his love. It is a heinous crime to hack and drawlines on youth and beauty. ere the Lover no Longer speaks with emphasizedpLosives his speech, for all the appearance of imperative command, sounds more