Sonnet 12: When I Do Count The Clock That Tells The Time
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.
Summary of Sonnet 12: When I do count the clock that tells the time
- Popularity of “Sonnet 12”: “Sonnet 12” is one of William Shakespeare’s procreation sonnets, a group of poems, persuading a fair youth to marry and have children. The poem talks about the unstoppable power of time, a malignant destructive force. It also explains the fundamental laws of cyclical nature that constantly changes with time. The popularity of the poem lies in the fact that it deals with a natural phenomenon that never fades away.
- “Sonnet 12” As a Representative of Reality: This poem is about the law of nature. It shows that time and tide wait for none. To make this idea echo more effectively, the speaker evokes various catchy images such as day changing into night, summer losing its charm in winter, flowers dying, trees getting bare, and hair greying. Hence, nothing escapes the changes in the natural world. After talking about the natural objects, the speaker is concerned that his beautiful friend will also grow old and die. However, there is only one way to cheat mortality which is to breed. He suggests his friend marry and have children. To him, his children will keep his friend’s beauty preserved after his death.
- Major Themes in “Sonnet 12”: Man versus nature, aging, and beauty are the major themes of the poem. The writer talks about how beautiful objects in nature are short-lived. He catalogues the things that lose their charm in the hands of time. He talks about the changing seasons along with their noticeable effects. Also, he talks about man’s stages of life, like how we undergo various life changes. Using impressive natural imagery, the writer shows that nothing remains the same. Everything has to pass through the test of time, leaving memories behind. He wants his friend to take these changes as a lesson and plan his life accordingly. Since his friend can see that his beauty and charm will also vanish once a person dies. Thus, to preserve his mesmerizing beauty, he should marry and have children.
Analysis of Literary Devices in Sonnet 12: When I do count the clock that tells the time
literary devices are the writer’s tools; they use them to make their texts appealing. Their appropriate use helps readers to hit the main idea of the poem. Shakespeare has also used various literary devices in this poem, whose analysis is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /e/ in “When lofty trees I see barren of leaves” and the sound of /i/ in “And see the brave day sunk in hideous night.”
- Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. Shakespeare has repeated the word “and” in the final lines of the poem to emphasize the point such as;
“And die as fast as they see others grow;
And nothing ‘gainst Time’s scythe can make defence.”
- Alliteration: Alliteration means occurrence of two similar initial sounds in two words occurring close to each other. The sonnet shows the use of alliteration /w/ and /b/ such as “with white and bristly beard.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /r/ in “Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard” and the sound of /s/ in “since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Shakespeare has used imagery in this poem such as, “And summer’s green all girded up in sheaves” and “That thou among the wastes of time must go.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet has used the extended metaphors of decay and old age to show the transience of life.
- Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to non-human things. Shakespeare has used this device in the last lines where he personifies time, such as:
“And nothing ‘gainst Time’s scythe can make defence
Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. “The poet has used symbols like death, aging, love, and time.
Analysis of Poetic Devices in “Sonnet 12: When I do count the clock that tells the time”
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem
- Couplet: Two verses having the same rhyme scheme and the same metrical pattern is a couplet. This sonnet ends with a couplet, which usually reveals the central idea of the poem, such as;
“And nothing ‘gainst Time’s scythe can make defence
Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.”
- End Rhyme: It means the rhyming of the ending words. Shakespeare has used end rhyme in this poem, such as “defence/hence”, “time/prime” and “make/forsake.”
- Iambic Pentameter: It is a type of meter having five iambs per line. The poem follows iambic pentameter such as “When I do count the clock that tells the”
- Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. The poem has three quatrains.
- Rhyme Scheme: The sonnet follows ABABCDCD in octave and EFEFGG in sestet.
- Sonnet: A sonnet is a fourteen-lined poem usually written in iambic pentameter. This Shakespearean sonnet consists of three quatrains and a couplet.
Quotes to be Used
The lines stated below are useful to refer to when describing the dynamic nature of time.
“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;”
