Analyzing That Time Of Year By William Shakespeare

In “That time of year” by William Shakespeare, the speaker creates a sense of dread as he describes his declining health. The speaker is telling his healthier lover that even though he is dying, their love is still strong, and will grow stronger in the last few moments they have together. In the first sentence the speaker tells us about a certain time of year and how “mayst in me behold”. The time of year he is telling us about is the time “When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang” (2). That time of the year is autumn. By comparing himself to autumn, he is saying that he isn’t quite a dying, old man yet, but his health isn’t getting any better. Although his life isn’t the end of winter, it’s not the first week of spring anymore. The branches

This is the comparison that really emanates dread. The seasons and days loop back around and start again. Those comparisons could be interpreted as a depressing or hard time for them. Where if they wait long enough things will get better, but this time it’s a fire, “thou seest the glowing of such fire” (9). Once you stop adding fuel to a fire it will slowly die. Another fire could be lit in the same spot, but you can never get back the old fire once it’s gone. At the beginning of the fire there is still an abundance of fuel, but not many ashes, the fire only ends when it runs out of fuel or someone extinguishes it. Since the fire is now only glowing, there isn’t much fuel left. The ashes left are the memories of his youth, “ashes of his youth” (10). The next line creates a sense of urgency and inevitability of death, “As the death-bed whereon it must expire” (11). The speaker doesn’t say might expire, he says must. There are only two options for the fire, to continue burning, and to go out, and the speaker is out of fuel. Eventually all the fuel is used up and turns to ash, putting out the glow of the fire, “Consumed with that which it was nourished by”