How time flies—The Theme of Time in Shakespeare’s Sonnet

1. Introduction

William Shakespeare is one of the most outstanding English poets and playwrights in the Middle Ages. Shakespeare’s Sonnet is not the only one of the greatest achievements of his， but also a great leap forward to sonnet itself. Among various themes， the conception of time runs through the whole collection of poems， which is ruthless， endless and changing. How time flies， albeit the Sonnet of Shakespeare will be perpetually hand down over the endless flow of time.

2. How time flies

Of the 154 sonnets written by Shakespeare， time functions as the dominant theme. Moreover， the time-relative words are abundant， including 79 times “time”，46 times “day”，16 times “hour”，10 times “winter”，10 times “summer”，6 times “spring”，2 times “autumn”and one times “foison”.Besides， there are many other words contain time concept， such as “week”， “month” and “season” and so on. The description about time just like pieces of pictures， showing us the cruelty， endlessness and fickleness of time.

3. The cruelty of time

In Sonnet， there are loads of vocabularies showing the cruelty of time directly. These words give a specific and vivid description of the tyrant-like time.

Besides， the typical image of time are compared to “scythe” and “sickle” repetitively in Sonnet 12， 60， 100， 116， 123 and 126， which indicates that time is as ruthless as a scythe. The origin of the time image can be traced back to Greek mythology in which one of the Titans named Cronus is depicted as a curly-haired giant forward carrying a sickle. The sickle of time can cut off the beauty of nature as well as the happiness of life without effort. The powerful time belittles everything in the world. In Sonnet 2， Shakespeare uses “deep trenches in thy beauty”， “thy youth’s proud livery”， “a tatter’d weed” to depict how time destroy one’s beauty. The splendid things will be tortured by the merciless time， and the glory day will pass eventually. Nothing can escape from the destiny of being ruined. Beauty fades with time. Time fades beauty with a glamour that has ever been so perishable， yet bright.

Sonnet 19 also emphasized the cruelty of time. The sickle of time will blunt the lion’s claws， pluck the fierce tiger’s teeth， burn the long-lived phoenix and wrinkle the beauty’s face. In this poem， Shakespeare uses time-relative words and phrases to illustrate how merciless the time is.

4. The endlessness of time

In the Sonnet， the description about the endlessness of time demonstrate the real experience of the poet himself. Time and tide wait for no men， once flew， will never come back. In the endless flow of time， the past is past， every now and then is transitory and every second is passing by. The future is intangible and unpredictable. The Sonnet 60 described the flushing time as “the waves” that “make towards the pebbled shore”. The “changing place” and “sequent toil” described the hasty life and the circle of changing life. In Sonnet 104， “three winters cold”， “three summers’ pride”， “three beauteous springs” and “yellow autumn” demonstrated that time is endless. As time goes on， the four seasons appear alternately. The freezing winter and burning summer； the gaudy spring and withered autumn； the lovely April and hot June. These alternative natural scenes illustrate that the time slip away silently. The time constantly running， goes in and out. Following the passing by of time， the life circle goes around and the season changes. Time never ends. Time never pauses. Time never cease.

5. The changing of time

In the fleeting river of time， the past disappeared without a trace； now is going to be the past and fleeting away. During this process， the fleeting time is changing as well. It changes its form as people’s sweet memories， experiences and longings. Various emotional experiences make the fleeting time fresh and impressive. In Sonnet 64，“buried age”， “down-razed” and “slave” illustrate the fact that luxury life may disappear，lofty tower may crush into pieces， immortal brass cannot avoid corroded. All of these variations are due to the changing of time.

6. Conclusion

Time is the most vital theme and important clue in Sonnet. Nothing in the word can escape from the scythe of the ruthless， endless and changing time. According to the description of time， Shakespeare’s opinions towards life and poem can be seem clearly.

References：

[1]Luo Lianggong.A Survey of English Poetry[M].Wuhan： Wuhan University press.

[2]Wu Di. On the Time Theme in Shakespeare’s Sonnets[J].Foreign Literature Review，2002.

【作者簡(jiǎn)介】鮮思靜，四川外國(guó)語(yǔ)大學(xué)重慶南方翻譯學(xué)院。