"the devouring time": the antagonistic nature of time and the counteracting role of poetry in...

8/13/2019 "The Devouring Time": the Antagonistic Nature of Time and the Counteracting Role of Poetry in William Shakespe

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Diana Cretu Cretu 1

English 124E2

28 November 2013

"The Devouring Time": the Antagonistic Nature of Time and the Counteracting Role of Poetry in

William Shakespeares Sonnets

The figure of time, mentioned in many of Shakespearessonnets takes on the form of the

antagonist in the poets self-proclaimed war. Its unforgiving and destructive nature is clearly

revealed in both Sonnet 19 as well as Sonnet 63 as the poet acknowledges the passing of

time as a threat to the world and implicitly to his precious friend, and endeavours to combat it.

Although both Sonnets depict the vulnerability of the material world in contrast to the

hyperbolized hostility of time and offer immortality through poetry as a counteracting solution, a

stronger impact is created in Sonnet 19 through the portrayal of a personalized and

denaturalized time.

Shakespeares intentional portrayal of time as an antagonist is clearly depicted in both

Sonnet 19as well as Sonnet 63through the use of similar imagery. In order to achieve the

transformation of time from an abstract notion into a formidable and worthy opponent,

Shakespeare goes beyond its familiar allegorical guises as thief, devourer, and harvester

(Swisher 110) and dramatizes its actions with more than conventional vitality (Swisher 110).

Thus, in both sonnets we are presented with an absolute cosmic power which operates on all

levels of creation (Swisher 111) and destroys everything it meets with an insane conviction. In

his concern for what the friend must suffer along with the rest of creation under the tyranny of

time (Swisher 111) the poet ceases to see the passing of time as mere actuality and hyperbolizes

recurrent natural occurrences such as the round of the seasons or organic growth and decay into

deliberate acts of destruction. Every action is thereupon portrayed as an intentional act of evil


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and the Devouring Time (Shakespeare, Son. 19, line 1) with its injurious hand (Shakespeare,

Son. 63, line 2) becomes the poets indisputable enemy.

The use of personification in Sonnet 19 announces time as a fourth character and

introduces a markedly new tone (Swisher 113) in the Shakespeares sequence of lyric poems:

The antagonist ceases to represent an abstract entity whose actions can solely be watched and

bemoaned. It now embodies a swift-footed(Shakespeare, Son. 19, line 6) villain the poet can

interact with and challenge. The Devouring Time (Shakespeare, Son. 19, line 1) is performing

its heinous acts under the observation of the speaker who directly addresses it in an attempt to

delineate [its] frontal assault on man and nature through a series of aggressive present tense

verbs(Swisher 114) as well as the use of second person pronouns. Through the personification

of Time, Shakespeare not only succeeds in representing it as an ultimate antagonist but also gives

the confrontation a stronger impact, explaining the defiant conclusion of the sonnet: the more

formidable the opponent, the more dedicated he is to its victims (Swisher 114) and thus the

more committed is the poet to counteract its attacks.

In Sonnet 19, the terrible actions of time are not only hyperbolized but also taken out of

their natural context. The destructive power of time becomes contra Naturum (Bloom 23)

which further emphasizes the evil nature of this merciless antagonist. Times powers are no

longer contained solely to Stealing away the treasure of [the friends] spring (Shakespeare, Son.

63, line 8) or filling his beautiful face With lines and wrinkles (Shakespeare, Son. 63, line 4).

The antagonist can now take power away from natural creatures by making a lions claws blunt

or plucking the keen teeth from fierce tigers jaws (Shakespeare, Son19, line 3) as well as

giving or taking life without the involvement of nature. In order to emphasize its unruly nature,

Shakespeare also uses the phoenix "(an archetypal symbol of immortality) to undertone time's


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power by stating that even the mythical bird is not immune to its ravages" (Bloom 16) The

sonnet envisions time as "a master-artificer of self-consuming artifacts, a kind of action-sculptor

or action-painter gone berserk (Bloom 109). By antagonizing time through the use of

denaturalization Shakespeare succeeds in transgressing the commonplace theme of the hostility

of time (Duncan-Jones, 70) and gives Sonnet 19 a more heroic, more swelling and more

original(Duncan-Jones, 70) position, which conveys a much stronger impression to the reader.

Both creator and eradicator, time disobeys the very laws of nature, and becomes seemingly

unstoppable.

In both Sonnet 19 and Sonnet 63 Shakespeare suggest that physical []

destruction is indeed and always hasbeen, within old Times power (Bloom 23) and thus that

all the representatives of the material world are powerless in the face of the universally

calamitous time. Starting with the lion and the tiger and moving to nature itself made to devour

her own sweet brood (Shakespeare, Son. 19, line 4), Shakespeare illustrates that nothing in

material existence can escape times destructive frenzy.Not even the friend, the "beauty's pattern

to succeeding men" (Shakespeare, Son. 19, line 12) can "escape decay in his human actuality"

(Bloom 19) and will also reach ages steepy night (Shakespeare, Son. 63, line 5) eventually.

When faced with the universal devourer, the poet acts on his commitment by challenging time,

in an effort to keep his friend intact (Bloom 19). Thus by emphasizing that neither man, nor

nature can withstand time, Shakespeare hints that the only solution for defying its engulfing

power is poetry which "exists from a dimension to which all temporal fabrications and

engagements are as nothing" (Bloom 26). Although the verse cannot prevent the deleterious

effect of time" (Bloom 19) it remains unharmed by it and promises to live into the future in order

to immortalize the friend.


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Shakespeare's promise of immortality through "poetry written in black ink on yellowing

paper " (Bloom 109) is revealed as being the ultimate solution against "Time's injurious hand"

(Shakespeare, Son. 63, line 2) in both "Sonnet 19" and "Sonnet 63". In "Sonnet 19" the poet

"begins bravely with a series of imperatives" which shortly become submissive, as they simply

direct time to "do whate'er [it] wilt ... To the wide world and all her fading sweets" (Shakespeare,

Son. 19, line 6-7). Although a reversal in attitude occurs with the command against Time's

"most heinous crime" (Shakespeare, Son. 19, line 8) it becomes clear that the poet's focus shifts

from struggling to prevent the antagonist form imposing its unruly powers, to "the preservation

of the friend's living memory in deathless verse" (Swisher 112). Through the use of the poetry's

potential for immortality "the poet has found a way to triumph over time" (Bloom 17): he asserts

that despite "age's cruel knife" (Shakespeare, Son. 63, line 10), his loveshall in [his] verse ever

live young" (Shakespeare, Son. 19, line 14). The use of the word love in the final line of both

"Sonnet 19" and "Sonnet 63" "may denote not only the beloved, but also the poet's own feelings

of passion and affection for him: both which are now frozen in time by the poet's verse" (Bloom

17), proving that poetry can indeed counteract the brutally indifferent forces of time and thereby

grant immortality.

Although Shakespeares Sonnets frequently give "compelling utterance to experiences

everyone goes through when in love" (Bloom 6) they also depict "with directness and fullness,

basic conditions of existence which love has to confront" (Bloom 6) such as the imminent threat

of death brought about by "age's cruel knife" (Shakespeare, Son. 63, line 10). In both Sonnet 19

as well as Sonnet 63 time is portrayed as villainous character through the exaggeration of its

powers in contrast to the powerlessness of the material world. By empowering time and

establishing it as an antagonist, Shakespeare seeks to accentuate the greatness of poetry, which


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triumphs even when faced with such a formidable opponent. Therefore, the personification and

denaturalization of time in Sonnet 19 have the purpose to further stress its evil and destructive

nature as well as to enforce its position as the poets ultimate enemy.As a result of this more

potent antagonist.


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Works Cited

Bloom, Harold, ed. Shakespeares Poems and Sonnets. Blooms Major Poets Series. Broomall,

PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. Print.

Duncan-Jones, Katherine. Shakespeares Sonnets. The Arden Shakespeare, 3rd

Series. London:

Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1998. Print.

Swisher, Clarice, ed.Readings on the Sonnets. Greenhaven Press Literary Companion to British

Literature. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997. Print.

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