Sonnet 30

Night, mentioned in line 6 of the sonnet, serves as a potent symbol representing the afterlife, where the dead are in a timeless or “dateless” space, devoid of hope. This portrayal of death as an eternal void underscores the speaker’s profound sense of despair, evident throughout the first twelve lines of the poem.

The treatment of the afterlife depicted in the poem is notably atheistic, given the societal context where religious adherence was obligatory. The speaker’s depiction diverges from traditional Christian beliefs, eschewing the notion of a heavenly reward or eternal life for the departed. Instead, the symbol of the afterlife serves to accentuate the speaker’s existential anguish, devoid of religious consolation.

In contrast to the absence of divine intervention, the speaker finds solace in the transformative power of love, particularly erotic love. This sentiment implies that only love has the power to lessen the speaker’s intense feelings of loss. Thus, the symbol of the afterlife in the poem serves to underscore the speaker’s reliance on earthly love as the ultimate source of restoration and comfort.