Sonnet LXV

The main theme of this sonnet is destructive power of time, how it destroys all earthly things.
In the first line "brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea" can escape the ravages of time. In this line the Speaker used such stylistic devise as gradation: “brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea”, it’s also a personification the materials of the nature.
Line 3 asks, "How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea," characterizing beauty as the plaintiff in a legal dispute. Time is thus characterized as an unfair tyrant, against which delicate beauty stands no chance in court. The legal terminology (hold a plea) is continued in the following line with the use of the word "action."
In the second quatrain the Speaker used a lot of military terminology: hold out, against the wreckful siege, battering, impregnable, decay. There is a metaphor of the capture of a city, which would be the final destruction of war. In line 6, "the wrackful siege of battering days," refers to ruin and destruction with the term "wrackful," while "siege" implies the taking of a city. "Battering" calls to mind a battering ram. The "rocks impregnable" in line 7 refer to the city's walls, which were thought to be impenetrable, and the "gates of steel" in line 8 are the gates of the besieged city. In the first line of the second quatrain there is a line “O, how shall summer’s honey breath hold out” which is an opposition to the three lines. Because this line sounds like breath and whispering, and breathe means life itself. Also we see the rhetorical question at the end of this quatrain: “Nor gates of steel so strong, but Tine decays?” and this question makes us think about the destructive power of time. Also in this line we can notice that the word time is written with capital letter, so the Speaker personifies the Time.
The Theme of the third quatrain is that nobody can stop the arriving time. The first line begins with interjection “O” which is the exclamation mark to pay readers attention to this quatrain. Also, here we can see that the word ”time” is capitalized. For Speaker “Time” is the main hero and enemy in this sonnet. There are three questions, which are answered in the final couplet. "Time's best jewel" is the metaphor to the beauty of youth and human being, and "Time's chest" is the place where Time eventually hides all youth. Line 11's question, "Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?" suggests that Time has a "swift foot," or moves quickly, unstopped by even a strong hand held up helplessly against it. Line 12 asks how it is possible to stop time from destroying youth.
The last couplet is a conclusion of this sonnet, and in these two lines The Speaker used a lot of stylistic devises: antithesis – “black ink & shine bright”; metonymy - “black ink” and a metaphor – “miracle have might”.
The final couplet provides us with some hope that there is something about mankind that will ultimately resist and defeat time. In the poet's case, it is through his verse that he will emerge victorious.