Poetic form

Sonnet 73

In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire
Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by.

Paraphase
You see the glowing of a fire
That is on the ashes that remain from the flame of my youth,
As on a death bed where youth must die
(The flame is) Consumed by that which once fed it (ashes).


The form of this poem enhances the meaning more than the prose version I provide. The prose only clarifies the hidden meaning but it loses the aesthetic value from the rhyme of the words and the form of the poem. The original version is written in iambic pentameter with ten syllables in each line. This organized form of the poem gives a very expected and structured feel.

This poem follows the form of the Shakespearean sonnet (AKA English sonnet),which uses the structure of ABABCDCDEFEFGG. The form of this quatrain (EFEF) helps to develop an expected pattern of symbols and connotations to portray Shakespeare’s depressing old age. On the other hand, this quatrain is designedto prepare for a clever, unexpected turn at the heroic couplet at the end of the sonnet. Compared to the previous three quatrains, the couplet serves as closure to the sonnet and gives a startling turn. The depressing symbolism that developed throughout the poem has an abrupt turn and ends with a positive thought of love that grew stronger as the time of Shakespeare’s life becomes limited.

For the first line in the third quatrain, “In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire,” and the first line in the second quatrain, “In me thou seest the twilight of such day”, they are extremely similar. Only two words are different. This repetition gives a structured feel of the poem. Also, the location of these two lines serves as an introduction to their following lines in the quatrain.This is shown in the third quatrain, which mentions the dying of fire.