Paper Example on Time in Shakespeare's Sonnets and Plays

Introduction

William Shakespeare employ's the theme of time in most of his Sonnet poems and plays. He uses sequential natural exploration to depict the change of time during his days. Shakespeare demonstrates how time acts as a destructive drive that portrays the move through different stages in the life of human beings. Literature scholars classify the 154 Sonnets into three distinct times to show the times of his days. The first 126 Sonnet shows the times of a young man's life with various natural and scenarios to show early days in life, the second phase from 126 to 152 shows a different time of a mysterious lady under the title Dark Lady, a mistress, and 153 to 154 shows the free and adaptation times. In his plays, Shakespeare uses the theme of time and death to show the evolution of the era during his days. He shows the different stages of a man's life with the explanation of different items in life to show the love and destruction of time in the change of life. This paper will demonstrate the use of the theme of time to show the evolution of Shakespeare's times in his writing as portrayed in the Sonnets and the plays; Richard III, Macbeth, and The Tempest in the pretext and notion depicted by Paul Elmen in "the war against time".

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In the context of applied in the Sonnets by Shakespeare time shows the central theme that drives through the life phases in youthfulness and later advancement in life. Elmen postulates that the war of time demonstrates the destruction of life from one stage to the other. The use of nature in the different Sonnets is symbolic to signify the various stages of life. Shakespeare uses is a poem to bring life issues like marriage, siring children, life difficulties, prestige, and love. The theme of time replete throughout the Sonnets with particular emphasis in twenty-two of them that portray a great deal of time and its destruction in the changes occurring in one's life. The preoccupation of the manner in which time passes as symbolized by the properties of change, memory, inevitability, and mortality to stress on Shakespeare's lack of control over certain thing in life attributed to time. The protagonists in the Sonnets are in constant battle with time giving it personified elements to be even symbols living as an invisible character in the plays and poems. Time is perceived by a majority of scholars to portray as the fourth character in Shakespeare's Sonnets. In different Sonnets, time is represented by certain imagery devices in the context of its use. For instance, in Sonnet 16, time is described as a "bloody tyrant" to signify the ruthlessness of time in an individual's life. Consequently, in Sonnet 19 time is used symbolically as "devouring" or "swift-footed" to portray the overwhelming nature of time. The prevalent of the theme of time is literarily applied in the Sonnet to symbolize its essence in the different stages in life man goes through and their representation of the issues faced. This paper will discuss six out of the one hundred and fifty-four Sonnets to demonstrate the use of time and its destructive effects on man's life.

In the twelfth Sonnet, time is portrayed on the destructive perspective of life's concerns. Shakespeare warns fellow young people to beat time in its own game by getting married and setting up their own families. Throughout the poem, the poet is able to show the disadvantages that come in handy with a delay of time in life. He shows the sterility of bachelorhood as one of the major destructions of time. In his advice to the man, the poet recommends that for a man to beat the disadvantage of mortality in life, they should get married and have children in order to have a continuity of their lives from themselves and to their children. In this demonstration, the destruction of time through mortality the narrator perceives would be eradicated in the generational continuity by having children.

Time is portrayed in this poem to destroy all things in the universe as it progresses, for instance, "lofty trees barren of leaves;.... When lofty trees I see barren of leaves which erst from heat did canopy the herd..." the exemplification of the nature to show how time changes and duplicates things shows the way time is destructive in nature. From the example, the canopy forest was full of leafy trees but with the presence of time and change in due course, time changes the lively forest into barren trees where the leaves wither and decompose not to give the one's beautiful forest its usual glory but transform it into unpleasantness. In this ironic representation of time, Shakespeare wanted to make an indirect comparison of man's life with the canopy bush to show the effect of time in changing the beauty of youthfulness. The first eight lines of the twelfth Sonnet symbolizes the beauty of life and shows the slow pass of time, which withers in the advent of time to lose the beauty with the hardships faced in life. Shakespeare symbolizes the hardships that season man's life with the natural weathers that dilapidate the beauty of nature and destroys its youthfulness. This plays as a wakeup call to all young people as portrayed in the war of time by Elmen to know that with the tick of the clock their life is changing from youthfulness to advances ages and changes in responsibilities in life. In the battle of life, people change from the delicacy of a young life to adulthood that sheds away all the beauty and joys that comes with youngness.

In the thirteenth Sonnet, the proponents of time are depicted in the uncertainty of life crisis due to mortality. This poem portrays time as an assault on humanity. Human beings are immortal beings and with time they die and life are discontinued. In this poem, the narrator is sympathetic to the fate of man and urges them to beat tie destructiveness of time by marrying and having children as an immortal property to make their life eternal. Lines one to four of the Sonnet states: "O, that you were yourself! But beauty, love, you are / No longer yours than you yourself here live: / Against this coming end you should prepare, /And your sweet semblance to some other give..." as a warning to the youths to remember that one day they will need to remember the joy of being young by seeing the beauty and reflection of their nice young age in the lives of their children. The narrator is persuading his friend to take heed the advice given because time will rob off the joy of being young from their lives and their beauty will be destroyed. The only hope he can promise will give them hope is to see the reflection of their good young life in the lives of their children. From line 9 to line 12 the narrator continues to demonstrate his pursuit for his friend to take his advice seriously by making further persuade that: "...Who lets so fair a house fall to decay,/ Which husbandry in honor might uphold/ Against the stormy gusts of winter's day / And Barren rage of death's eternal cold?..." The narrator urges his friend to get married now that he is young because time will bring barrenness his way and he will not sire children later in life. The destructiveness of time and the coldness of the emptiness brought about by time make the youth to depart the active life to enter into a lonely life later in life that destroys all the good thing that mattered in life as well as near the death date. In these examples, Shakespeare was able to demonstrate how the time of a human being is of the essence to show whether one can be happy or not. Demonstrating the application of Elman's perception of time shows that Shakespeare's advice to beat the cruelty of life by making human beings immortal through generational lineage. The advice demonstrates the continuity of life from one generation to the next.

In the nineteenth Sonnet, Shakespeare talks of the ravages of time. Throughout the poem, the narrator demonstrates the fears of the consequences of time. He emphasizes on the meanness of time to rob off happiness from man's life, thus advising that one should fulfill their wishes whenever they can due to the cruelty of time. Line one to line six of the poem shows the effects of time and the changes it beings in life and in nature. When the poet says: "blunt thou the lion's paws, / make the earth devour her own sweet brood, / pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws, /and burn the long-lived phoenix./ ... swift-footed" this shows the overwhelming nature of time in throwing effective changes in nature and human beings' life. According to Elmen time is inevitable and out of control of man. Holding time back is impossible leaving a man with only the regrets of wishes and worries on the past and future properties of life. Although the Sonnet shows the fight between the narrator and the destruction of time, nothing can be done to hold time to his advantage; therefore, advising the youth to fulfill their wishes when they can before time destroys their beauty. In the play "Macbeth" the overwhelming effect of time is portrayed when Macbeth murders King Duncan to claim the high throne with time as the major hindrance to the success of the battle. With the way, Macbeth feels overwhelmed by time Macduff is sarcastic by remarking that "time is free" to show the effect of time of Macbeth's actions.

Sonnet 65, the power of time is portrayed to show the destruction of successes in life. The poet used this perspective of time to show that lie triumphs are short-lived due to the ruthlessness of time. This symbolic representation of time was to show that no achievement in life was permanent. The first and second lines of the poem say: "Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea,/But sad mortality o'er-sways their power..." to demonstrate that time destroys everything created by man and the elements of nature even the strongest creations and achievements. Consequently, from line three through to line twelve, the poet emphasizes on the destructiveness of time to destroy everything on earth without exceptions. Elmen states that time robs man's best properties and ages it's a way to lose its original taste and value. He further states that with the advent of time, the beauty of man withers to fade away from the blossoming beauty to old age. Battling with time to compete and preserve the youthfulness or newness of age is eventually defeated by time to weather into the sours of destructions. In the play Richard III, Shakespeare signifies the cruelty of time and argues the protagonist to speed up and pick the crown when the chances of life were still lenient and favorable to him before they all fade and vanish in the self-consciousness of time.

In sonnet 116, Shakespeare is quick to make better suggestions on the remedies of overpowering the disadvantages of time. Through the poem, the writer is able to communicate hope to the audience by showing that the destruction of time was reversible by making life better and appreciating the change. The first element suggested in this poem is love to overcome the wither of beauty. In line five the poet says: "an ever-fixed mark". Further in lines ten to twelve he adds: "blending sickle's compass, / Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, / But bears it out even to the edge of doom." The advice to humanity is to adopt love that does not change with time. Though the looks and beauty withers with time holding strong properties that would not be compromised by the time of love will help people to appreciate the change of life owing to the destruction of time. According to the Elmen appreciation of life requires one to understand the inner beauty and passion that preserves the sentimental value of each other despite the change of beauty. In the play "The Tempest" Shakespeare demonstrates the use of time and sentimental attachment of the depletion of the shipwreck. It shows the power of compassion in revivin...