Yee 1

When I do count the clock that tells the time, And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; When I behold the violet past prime, And sable curls, all silvered o'er with white; When lofty trees I see barren of leaves, Which erst from heat did canopy the herd, And summer's green all girded up in sheaves, Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, Then of thy beauty do I question make, That thou among the wastes of time must go, Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake And die as fast as they see others grow; And nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence.

Yee 2 Sonnet 12 Analysis In Sonnet 12, by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare writes that Time will cause everything to age and all beauty to fade: Through writing, the poet proves that only posterity will avoid death. Shakespeare proves this through vivid imagery, rich metaphors, and literary devices such as poetic diction and full consonance. Vivid imagery is present in several different lines, but it is most notable in the lines three through five: When I behold the violet past prime,/ And sable curls, all silvered oer with white:/ When lofty trees I see barren of leaves. This very natural and vivid imagery presents the idea that Time not only affects humans, but also things such as plants and hair. The images are also symbolic of different phases of the human life-span: the violet is a human passing the prime time of its life, sable curls are the stages when the humans hair begins to turn white, and the barren tree is a metaphor for the barren body of a human as it borne on the bier, being sent away to be buried. The lines And summers green all girded up in sheaves,/ Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard evoke the image of the summers greens being carted away, but it has an even deeper meaning. The image is actually symbolic of an old man being carted away after his death, hence the white and bristly beard, depicting one of the final stages of lifebeing sent away to be buried, relating to the image of barren trees. The use of the full consonance in the line Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard helps create an image that, like a circle, is very full and connected to itself. The sound lulls the listener into this very light trance, much like the eternal sleep that Time lulls its victims into. These all show that nothing can escape Times grasp, whether in the human or plant form. If it lives, it shall die. However, if it has once been alive, then it can also be remembered. This is the second point that Shakespeare is trying to get across; it is expressed in the last couplet of his writing: And nothing gainst Times scythe can make defence/ Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence. The last line means that there really is a way to escape from Times grip, and that is to have posterity remember oneself. The poetic diction useddefence, save, and bravehas Shakespeare make the act of remembrance almost a noble, honorable, act, suggesting that he would like himself to be remembered and even reveled when he is just thata memory.

Yee 3 Seconds. Minutes. Days. Weeks. All of them pass. Wind moans through branches; the fall harvest reaped. Leaves, colors change: Golden, yellow, red, brass, Fallen foliagedecay on ground, or heaped. Seasons change, icy touch seethes, spreads within; Falling, falling, dark leaves lie down with sighs. Prayers to the dark, forgive of the sin, Times grip crushes souls, winter freezes cries. Spring comes, snow laments, frozen feeling thawed. Flowers bloom, life appears in grassy field. Light snow melted, soggy ground once more trod, Shelters taken downno use of a shield. The seasons will progress, Time will not slow; I will die, but now my children must go -David Yee