April Fabro
English 200B
Professor Taufer
29 May 2012
An Explication of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 12
When I do count the clock that tells the time, 

And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; When I behold the violet past prime, And sable curls all silver'd o'er with white;

When lofty trees I see barren of leaves Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,

And summer's green all girded up in sheaves Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, 

Then of thy beauty do I question make, 

That thou among the wastes of time must go, Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake

And die as fast as they see others grow; 
 And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence
 Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 12 is written in an iambic pentameter in the Shakespearean format. It is a contemplation of one’s progression of life and the absolute emergence of ones death, with an ultimate purpose to convey the answer of an individual receiving eternal life. The sonnet is a short narration of definitive mortality that focuses on the passing of time through metaphoric images of nature and through the description of ones youth evolving into the dreaded phase of old age. It is a brief description of the passing of time here on earth. It showcases the passing of time in three quatrains: the end of youth, the end of the harvest season, and the end of ones life. The poem emphasized the importance of procreation and bearing children for one to continue the cycle of life and in a sense, promote the gift of eternal life by living through ones children and ensure survival of the subsequent generations.
In the sonnet, there are rhetorical devices used to elucidate the theme of the poem; some of the devices found include personification, antithesis, internal rhyme, imagery, and metaphor to cleverly demonstrate the various ways time can be measured and portray the paradigm that all things must come to an end. The devices make the sonnet flow beautifully, transitioning from one idea to another through poetic illustration. The choice of words that Shakespeare uses is a clever way to symbolize a parallel idea relating to the theme of passing time in the sonnet.
The melancholic opening of the sonnet illustrates a self-reflection of the poet in a poignant state of pondering on the passing of time. The poem is not specifically addressed to anyone in particular until the third quatrain where the poet addresses the reader directly. The first two lines of quatrain one, begins the poem with an image of the passing of day and transitioning into the night. The poet uses personification to describe the “clock that tells time;” the meaning of the clock “telling” time is the moment the clock chimes, it is a certain point of the day and if it is taken farther in analysis, one can compare it to a point in one’s life. The use of personification and antithesis dramatically emphasizes the illustration of the day transitioning into the setting sun to night; this never-ending cycle results in the evolution of nature and the maturity of one’s youth. The sonnet compares youth to spring flowers with the use of the words “violet past prime” and the coming of old age in the last line of the first quatrain. The color violet is a symbol for the springs blooming flowers; a sign of a renewal taken place in nature. Spring is a symbol of a new beginning or rebirth; after the death of winter’s cold, immerges a new beginning and rebirth in nature. In contrast, the last line of quatrain one portrays the passage of time with a description of a once black curly hair turning into hair saturated with silver and white; it is an allusion of the progression to the ultimate destination of one’s death.
In quatrain two, the poem transitions into a different image of the passing of time through a depiction of the end of autumn’s harvest. The image enters with an internal rhyme, which further dramatizes the changing of the seasons from spring to fall then winter. In the fall season, nature goes through a phase of metamorphosis and ultimately leads to death through changing colors and the shedding of leaves. The autumn leaves that once provided protection to the animals from the sweltering heat of the sun’s rays disappeared with the fall season. It is a metaphor for the cycle of life and death. In comparison to the previous quatrain, color is a clear indication of passing time in not only human life but nature as well; the changing color of leaves in the fall is parallel to the changing color of hair in human life. It is the phase right before a state of death.
The sonnet continues to use the imagery of passing time through imagery of the “summer’s green” which is a synecdoche that is insinuating that all of the crops from the autumns harvest are bundled up and ready to be stored for the winter while being taken away on a “bier” as quoted in the last line. In further analysis of the last line of quatrain two, not only does Shakespeare use a lyrical form of alliteration with the letter “B,” he also uses a beautiful metaphor “Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard.” In translation, “Borne on the bier” implies that the crops are being carried away on the wagon after the summer’s greens are bundled up and ready to be delivered or stored. Shakespeare ties in the metaphor of death with the word “bier,” which is also another name for the wagon that carries a casket before the body is buried; both wagons carry death to its destination. This metaphor is an equal representation of death in nature and death in human life.
The third quatrain changes the consistency of imagery that is already portrayed in the previous quatrains. With the use of anastrophe in opening line of the quatrain “Then of thy beauty do I question make,” not only does Shakespeare question the reality of one’s beauty but he also questions how long one’s beauty will last? Will it be everlasting? Shakespeare declares that human beauty cannot be youthful forever and one’s beauty and beautiful things here on this earth will eventually fade and decay with the passing of each day. Human life can be compared to nature; when one plant dies, it will be replaced with another. In comparison, human death is always replaced with human life. It is a never-ending cycle of life and death that progresses with the passing of time.
In the first line of the couplet (line 13), Shakespeare uses the words “Time’s scythe,” and the word “Time” is capitalized as if “Time” is a person. Metaphorically, “Time” is a personification of death and it is also an allusion for the mythological Grim Reaper who traditionally wields a scythe. In connection to the second quatrain, a scythe is significant to reaping crops for the harvest and in a sense brings death to the crops. It can easily be compared to the Grim Reaper carrying a scythe while collecting a person’s life and it alludes the fact that there is never protection from the coming of death. According to the last line of the sonnet, one can only defy the Grim Reaper and the passing of time through procreation and bearing children to achieve immortality. The words in the last line “Save breed,” indicate that having children is the only way to live forever when “Time” comes to take you. It ensures ones continuation of beauty and presence here on earth even when the time has come that ones life must come to an end by living through one’s children.
The tone throughout the entire sonnet is very melancholic and sad; coldness and death is the dominant imagery throughout the whole poem. Although Shakespeare states a clear answer to the sad fate of death and passing time, the sonnet still ends in a mournful tone. It is as if the whole purpose of ones life is to marry and bear children for the sake of ones own immortality. The rhetorical devices clearly enhance the sadness and sincerity of each line in a somber and lyrical manner. It clearly illustrates that time here on earth, regardless of how hard one tries to prevent it from passing, will forever continue its natural cycle. It is a dreaded fate that every living thing on this earth must face but the importance for to one continue the cycle of life by bearing children will live on from generation to generation. One must continue the cycle of life and death. Shakespeare ended the sonnet with very powerful words as the last impression for the reader to ponder about achieving everlasting life