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Sonnet 60 Figurative Language

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The Damaging Effects of Time in “Sonnet 60”
“Sonnet 60” was published in 1609 along with 154 others sonnets, which were all written by William Shakespeare. This popular sonnet portrays the passing of time in a negative connotation and personifies time, making it appear unstoppable and destructive. The narrator, which is Shakespeare himself, illustrates a theme of the ravages of time by comparing its passing to a different element in each quatrain. This Shakespeare’s perception of time and the effects it has on life is demonstrated through his use of figurative language. Shakespeare understands that time cannot be stopped and that eventually, his life will come to an end. However, Shakespeare challenges his three previous quatrains in the last …show more content…

Sonnet 60 contains fourteen lines made up of three quatrains, stanzas of four lines having alternate rhymes, and one couplet, verse of two lines joined by rhyme. This sonnet is also written in iambic pentameter, meaning the line of verse has five metrical feet, each containing of one short syllable followed by one long syllable. Shakespeare uses each quatrain to express a different representation of time. Figurative language is used mainly through the form of personification in this sonnet in order to make time appear as a living organism. However, Shakespeare also uses imagery, metaphors, and similes to compare time to different aspects of …show more content…

While authors do not always write in the perspective of the narrator, the use of “my” in line 13, exposes Shakespeare as the speaker of this sonnet. He uses “Sonnet 60” to express his fear of aging. Throughout this sonnet, time is described as being unstoppable and damaging, destroying all beauty and life in its path. However, Shakespeare ends the sonnet with a thought that challenges all that was previously mentioned. He writes this sonnet with the idea that it will not be appreciated after his death and that it will be destroyed by time. Although Shakespeare has an undesirable view of time, he hopes his “verse shall stand, praising thy worth despite his cruel hand” (13-14). He wishes that his writings will be remembered long past his death and that he will not be

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