Sonnet 73 is a typical Shakespearean
sonnet. Therefore, it is written in iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of
abab, cdcd, efef, gg. There are three quatrains that develop the
theme, or action, with a concluding rhyming couplet.
In
Shakespeare's Sonnet 73, in the first quatrain, the speaker acknowledges to his lover
that he is growing older:
That time of year thou mayst in me
behold
When yellow leaves, or
none, or few, do
hang....
However, this aging
and possibility of dying--"Death's second self that seals up all the
rest"--should "ignite the fire" in the lover into embracing him and enjoying him more
fully and urgently.
Sonnet 73 is from a subgroup that
includes sonnets 18-77. While the latter ones relate in theme to time, as does Sonnet
73, the earlier ones relate to the complications that develop with rival lovers. Each
one of Shakespeare's sonnets holds its own beauty, nevertheless.
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