Love in Shakespeare's Sonnets 73 and 116 Compared

Introduction: Shakespeare and the Many Faces of Love

Love is the one emotion humans cannot control. It seems to govern us even as we resist it, and it arrives when we least expect it. William Shakespeare understood people well enough to know a great deal about love and the various effects it has on them. He, too, was a victim of love, and that experience often gave him the inspiration for the passion we find in his poems and plays. Two sonnets that allow us to see different points of view regarding love are "Sonnet 73" and "Sonnet 116." Although Shakespeare's writing is concerned with love most of the time, he expresses different meanings, themes, and uses of metaphor in these two works.

Each sonnet reveals a different perspective on love: "Sonnet 73" acknowledges love's complications, while "Sonnet 116" declares its beauty. Dennis Kay maintains that Shakespeare develops a "novel way of representing human consciousness, of an inner life," and that his sonnets are "at once the speaker's dramatic self-revelation and self-examination" (Kay 356). Through his experiences, we learn that we are not alone. Thomas Parrott writes that when composing his sonnets, Shakespeare "followed the fashion, but as usual, he followed it in his own way" (Parrott 192). Shakespeare's sonnets are not composed with a conventional sonnet sequence, and they are not necessarily addressed to a woman. They do, however, "spring from a personal experience" (192), and they tell a story — in the case of these two sonnets, the story of love. Together, "Sonnet 73" and "Sonnet 116" describe the ups and downs of love through metaphor and emotion, providing readers with a genuine slice of life.

Sonnet 73: Time, Aging, and the Urgency of Love

In "Sonnet 73," the poet is acutely aware of time and what it does to the object of his affection. Time becomes a major theme in this sonnet. There is a sense of urgency blended with melancholy throughout the poem, because the issue of age cannot be overlooked for long. It is as if the poet looks through a prism of time that colors everything he sees and feels. As a result, everything carries a hint of urgency and sorrow. Thomas Tyler writes that the poet knows "time's remorseless scythe will level all . . . By and by the gloom will deepen into pessimistic darkness" (Tyler), and the poet will cry out for "restful death" (Tyler).

The poet is also acutely aware that his lover recognizes the age difference every time he looks at him. This is captured in the line, "In me thou seest the twilight of such day" (Shakespeare, Sonnet 73, line 5). The structure of the sonnet reinforces this theme. Jay Rogoff argues that line disorder "enacts the speaker's resistance to aging" (Rogoff), which aligns with the poem's overall direction. The leaves are falling away like the years, and the few that remain "express a vitality and desire to hang onto life as urgent and plaintive as the glowing of the third quatrain" (Rogoff). Sorrow lingers throughout the poem because "death's second self" (Shakespeare, Sonnet 73, line 8) is always waiting, and it always wins at life's end. The speaker is an ember on the ashes of his youth, and there is no denying death. Yet the fact that life will not last forever makes the opportunity to love all the stronger.

Conclusion: Love's Contradictions in Shakespeare's Sonnets

Love is one of the most complicated emotions in human experience, and it only complicates matters further that love is also one of the most beautiful and life-changing experiences a person can have. These two aspects of love become natural subjects for poets and writers as they attempt to give feeling a form. Shakespeare clearly knew a great deal about love, and his poetry is the evidence. What we discover while reading his work is that love opens the door to many kinds of feeling.

In "Sonnet 73," we encounter a somber approach to love as the poet recognizes that an age difference does indeed affect a relationship — a realization that is tinged with sadness even in the midst of happiness. In "Sonnet 116," we see a more optimistic approach, as the poet delights in the power of love to endure. Together, Shakespeare's sonnets illustrate the full gamut of emotions we encounter when we fall in love, yet one thing remains clear: there is no denying the existence of love. Through the deep waves of human emotion, Shakespeare finds his reason to write, and these poems stand as testament to his desire to communicate his innermost feelings.

Works Cited

Greenblatt, Stephen. Will in the World. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2004. Print.

Kay, Dennis. Shakespeare. New York: William Morrow Company, 1992. Print.

Parrott, Thomas. William Shakespeare: A Handbook. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1955. Print.

Rogoff, Jay. Review of Vendler, Helen. The Art of Shakespeare's Sonnets. ProQuest Information and Learning Company, 1999. Web. Accessed February 13, 2011.

Shakespeare, William. "Sonnet 73." Shakespeare for Lovers. New York: Carol Publishing, 1963. Print.

---. "Sonnet 116." Shakespeare for Lovers. New York: Carol Publishing, 1963. Print.

Tyler, Thomas. "Introduction to Shakespeare's Sonnets." Literature Resource Center. Gale Group, 1995. Web. Accessed February 13, 2011.