Sonnet 65

"Sonnet 65" Meaning

In the sonnet, Shakespeare reflects on the destructive power of time, acknowledging that even the most beautiful and well-crafted things in the world are eventually eroded by it. He compares the power of time to the beauty of the young person, who is the subject of the poem.

All-powerful, unstoppable, and merciless, Time is a tricky adversary. Even the hardest metals on earth eventually erode and degrade, giving way to nothing. And human lives, which are infinitely more fragile than steel and stone, are no exception to the ravages of Time.

Time plays an important role in maintaining the balance of nature. But because humans are self-aware, they fear Time in a way that other natural things don't. Humans do not want to grow old, they don't want to die, and they absolutely don't want to be forgotten. The primary conflict in the poem is how the speaker and his lover can avoid being lost to Time. The meaning of the poem is that although nothing can stop time from destroying physical beauty, beauty can be immortalized emotionally in the written word and outlast the test of Time.

In summary, "Sonnet 65" is composed of 3 quatrains and a rhyming couplet.

The first quatrain asks how something as fragile as beauty can withstand Time when strong, durable forces like brass, stone, earth, and the sea are powerless against it. The speaker says Time degrades even rocks and steel, and the beauty of the Fair Youth will inevitably fare worse against the endless, "batt’ring" days (6). The speaker then poses a series of questions, wondering where he could hide his lover from Time, what could stop Time from marching forward, and who could prevent Time from destroying beauty.

In the end, the speaker realizes that there is nothing that can save his lover physically, but his lover's beauty might miraculously endure in the speaker's writings.

Fig. 1 - The speaker says his lover might be immortalized in the ink of his poetry.

Literary Devices in "Sonnet 65"

The central literary devices in "Sonnet 65" are personification, simile, metaphor, and rhetorical questions.

Personification in "Sonnet 65"

The speaker uses personification to position Time as the primary antagonist and source of conflict in the poem. Time is "batt'ring" (line 6), can "spoil" (line 12) and "decays" (line 8) some of the strongest materials on earth (in Shakespeare's time, at least). Personifying Time gives it the physical strength to destroy tangible things and actively work against the speaker and his beloved. The speaker worries about how he could protect his beloved from Time when Time is so merciless and unrelenting:

Time is presented as though it is a conquering army and humans are its spoils of war. Time wants all of the best jewels kept locked in its chest (read: death). Nothing can keep it from marching forward and conquering more and more, leaving death in its wake. And Time wants to completely destroy beauty and cement its ultimate control over humankind. Time has a will and agency. It is free to claim whatever it wants whenever it wants to.

In the final couplet, the speaker reclaims the power of personification and uses it to his advantage. He says,

The speaker hopes that his writing might be the only force mighty enough to stand against Time. Because the written word can be republished over and over again, infinitely as long as there are people to print it, it can preserve the speaker and his beloved for years after Time has claimed them both (judging by the fact that we're discussing this poem 400 years after Shakespeare originally wrote it, he was probably correct). He says that love shines out of the ink, illuminating the beauty of the men for all to witness.

Simile in "Sonnet 65"

The speaker uses a simile to compare the Fair Youth's beauty and fragility to a flower's. The speaker uses the word "than" to directly show how both lack the strength to stand up against Time. He says,

This simile is effective because the physical features associated with beauty are directly influenced by Time. Flowers wilt and die within a season, their beautiful petals giving way before finally succumbing to death. So too do humans change physically (wrinkles, sagging skin) as their bodies age and eventually transpire. The Fair Youth and flowers are charming and attractive, but their beauty is weak against Time. As stronger materials can't overcome the destruction of time, beauty stands no chance.

Fig. 2 - The speaker compares the Fair Youth's beauty and fragility to that of a flower.

Metaphor and Symbolism in "Sonnet 65"

The speaker uses metaphor to further compare youth's beauty to natural imagery. In line 5, he refers to the Fair Youth's beauty as "summer’s honey breath." This hints at the youth's sweetness, vibrancy, and impermanence.

Youth is symbolized by the sun and summertime in countless poems. In the summertime, things are lively and growing. The sun, the ultimate source of light and life, makes plants grow as animals born in the spring reach the peak of their adolescence. Everything is full of life and vitality. Although summer is symbolic of life and power, it ultimately fades away into Autumn and decay.

The use of "honey breath" depicts youth as sweet and rich. But honey itself comes with connotations of fragility and impermanence. Honeybees have incredibly short lifespans of only a few months, and honeycombs themselves are fragile. Honey is largely associated with summer because its production is linked to the lifecycles of flowers and pollen.

If summer is a symbol of youth and honey is a symbol of sweetness and productivity, then winter is ultimately a devastation that youth and beauty will not be able to survive.

Fig. 3 - The speaker uses the phrase "summer’s honey breath" (5) to show how sweet, rich, and impermanent the Fair Youth's beauty is

The speaker also uses metaphor when he calls the Fair Youth "Time’s best jewel" (10). The man is beautiful and valuable like a precious jewel, and Time would like to keep him hidden in death forever. The metaphor presents Time as a kind of hoarder, keeping the world's beauty hidden in his chest of jewels for only Time itself to enjoy.

"Sonnet 65" Alliteration

The first quatrain in "Sonnet 65" repeats the hard "B" sound, emulating the heavy blows that Time delivers. Words like "brass," "boundless," "but," and "beauty" (lines 1-4) imitate the sound of something being beaten and add an aggressive rhythm to the introductory quatrain. This emphasizes the way Time brutally deteriorates everything, from rocks to solid steel.

In the second quatrain, the forceful "B" sound continues with words like "breath," "batt'ring," and "but" (lines 5-8). The alliterative soft "S" sound is also added, softening the effects and showing that decay can also happen gradually over time.

Shakespeare employs several literary devices throughout the poem to establish a mournful, desperate tone. The speaker compares beauty to a flower and the beloved's "honey breath" to summer itself, because, although nature is a cycle, it is also fragile. The same flower will never bloom again. He ultimately argues that Time can cast its own shadow on gates of iron and rocks, but it can't penetrate the strength of the written word.

"Sonnet 65" Themes

The central themes of "Sonnet 65" are the relentless passage of time, the fragility of beauty, and the power of the written word.

The Relentless Passage of Time

"Sonnet 65" is dominated by Time. Time is relentless, merciless, and all-powerful. It is presented as the antagonist of the poem, a brutal enemy who brings with it "the wrackful siege of batt’ring days" (6). But really it is time that ensures that the cycle of the seasons, and of life, continues. Time keeps everything balanced, from summer to winter and life to death. The importance of time is only hinted at through the seasons and the elements, but it is implied that time's constant passage is actually quite natural. The speaker's hope that time would stop for humans is actually an unnatural request.

Fig. 4 - Time's relentless passage is one of the central themes in the poem.

The Fragility of Beauty

Perhaps just as important of the passage of time is the idea that beauty is special and should be preserved. The speaker actually focuses his argument on the immortalization of beauty as opposed to the beloved himself. Why? Because to the speaker, beauty isn't just physical appearance. It's the essence of the person themselves, everything that makes his beloved special. The lover's physical beauty is fragile, yes, but because of his mortality, everything else amazing about him will eventually be wiped off the earth as well.

Perhaps beautiful things are more beautiful because of their impermanence and not in spite of it. If sunsets occurred every hour of every day, their appeal would probably wane. If flowers bloomed throughout all four seasons, humans might not be so excited to see the first buds in the spring. So one could argue that the lover is so beautiful because he is so fragile, and once he's gone no one will ever be able to replicate his unique beauty. In an effort to preserve that beauty or rather all of the things that the speaker loves, he extolls his beloved's virtues in poetry.

The power of the written word

Finally, the poem ends by contemplating the power of the written word. If there's one way to immortalize something, it is by giving it a legacy. In the 1600s, before there were cameras or smartphones, the only way to really do that was either through painting or writing. The power of the written word is arguably stronger than that of paintings because no matter who transcribes the poem, the words themselves and the meaning behind those words stay the same. If the speaker chose to immortalize his love through painting, the style and intricate details would change slightly depending on the painter. But poetry is always replicable and true to its original meaning.

In the end, the speaker is able to immortalize his love in his poetry. And his beauty lives on and inspires countless others still today. The written word might not capture his physical characteristics, like his eye color or hair texture, but the essence of beauty is apparent in every word.