Sonnet LXXIII by William Shakespeare
Vocabulary
consumed – inspired
nourished – sustained
Questions and Answers
1. What is the meter of this poem?
The poem is written in iambic pentameter (lines of ten-syllables [five feet], following the pattern of unaccented-accented).
2. In the first quatrain, the speaker compares his age to which season? Why?
The speaker compares his age to late autumn because he is in the latter part of his life. He compares his aging to the aging of trees, the cold weather, and the migrating birds.
3. Why does the speaker say that his age resembles the “twilight”?
The speaker compares himself to the twilight since he believes his sun, or energy, has been extinguished.
4. What does the speaker say in the final couplet of the poem?
The speaker explains that his beloved must be strengthened by the knowledge that they will soon be parted from each other.
5. What is the rhyme scheme of this sonnet?
A/B/A/B C/D/C/D E/F/E/F GG
