“Sonnet 73” was written by the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. Though it was likely written in the 1590s, it was not published until 1609. Like many of Shakespeare’s first 126 sonnets, it is a love poem that is usually understood to address a young man. The poem uses natural metaphors of decline and decay to grapple with the onset of old age, and ultimately suggests that the inevitability of death makes love all the stronger during the lovers’ lifetimes. Like Shakespeare’s other sonnets, it departs from the earlier, Italian sonnet structure and rhyme scheme and follows the Shakespearean sonnet form.
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The Full Text of “Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold”
1That time of year thou mayst in me behold
2When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
3Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
4Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
5In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
6As after sunset fadeth in the west,
7Which by and by black night doth take away,
8Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
9In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
10That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
11As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
12Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.
13This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
14To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
The Full Text of “Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold”
1That time of year thou mayst in me behold
2When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
3Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
4Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
5In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
6As after sunset fadeth in the west,
7Which by and by black night doth take away,
8Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
9In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
10That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
11As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
12Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.
13This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
14To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
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“Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold” Summary
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“Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold” Themes
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Love and Old Age
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Mortality, Nature, and Meaning
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Aging
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold”
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Line 1
That time of year thou mayst in me behold
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Lines 2-4
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. -
Lines 5-6
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west, -
Lines 7-8
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. -
Lines 9-10
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, -
Lines 11-12
As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by. -
Lines 13-14
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
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“Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold” Symbols
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Seasons and Days
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Fire
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“Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Anaphora
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Apostrophe
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Assonance
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Consonance
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Enjambment
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Extended Metaphor
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Imagery
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Paradox
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Personification
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“Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Thou/Thy
- Mayst
- Boughs
- Choirs
- Late
- Twilight
- Death's second self
- Doth
- Expire
- Nourish'd
- Perceiv'st
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold” Speaker
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“Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold”
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More “Sonnet 73: That time of year thou mayst in me behold” Resources
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External Resources
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"Sonnet 73" Read Aloud — In this YouTube video by Socratica, hear Jamie Muffett read Sonnet 73 aloud.
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British Library: Introduction to the Sonnets — This higher-level introduction to Shakespeare's sonnets explores the poems' importance to British literary history and their continued relevance today. It also includes a number of images relating to sonnet history.
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LitCharts Shakescleare Translations — Here at LitCharts we've "translated" all of Shakespeare's sonnets into modern English to help you understand them.
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CrashCourse: Introduction to Shakespeare’s Sonnets — This YouTube video, part of a CrashCourse series on literature, offers a twelve-minute introduction to Shakespeare's sonnets led by young adult author John Green.
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Facsimile of "Sonnet 73" from Quarto 1 (1609) — Here you can see a facsimile—a reproduction of a printed text—of the first edition of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Shakespeare
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