Time in the Sonnets

[mike thomas]

I seem to recall somewhere reading that there is a definite theme of time in the Sonnets. It is true to say that certain Sonnets such as 12 and 60 do seem to relate to time. but I cannot see where Sonnet 19 fits the schema.

Has anyone any info or ideas on this matter?

regards

[kelby_lake]

I seem to recall somewhere reading that there is a definite theme of time in the Sonnets. It is true to say that certain Sonnets such as 12 and 60 do seem to relate to time. but I cannot see where Sonnet 19 fits the schema.

Has anyone any info or ideas on this matter?

regards

Sonnet 19 starts: "Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws"

Pretty clear link to time.

[mike thomas]

Sonnet 19 starts: "Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws"

Pretty clear link to time.


Hi kelby lake, thanks for the reply.

Yes of course the word Time itself is a good link, but I was thinking more of the relationships in certain sonnets between the texts and the sonnet number. The only link to Time the number 19 has, is in the fact that the letter T was 19th in the old alphabet.

Sonnet 60, for example, is a link to one hour or 60 minutes. Sonnet 12 is a clear indication of day or night, due to the then 12 hour system: "When I doe count the clock that tels the time," The fact that both winter and summer are represented in this sonnet makes me think also of 12 months. Sonnet 6 might indicate half a year as winter and summer are both mentioned.

Sonnet 52 (one year?) has Time in line 9.

There are many examples of time in the sonnets, and I wondered if there is a paper or book somewhere which investigates this issue.

If the sonnets do indeed have some underlying time/seasons schema, perhaps it is a key to some of the difficult problems the Sonnets presents.

Imagine:m those big famous letters T.T in thed dedication, often thought to be the initials of one Thomas Thorpe. That is only a theory, maybe T T stands fo The Time? A different theory.

thanks again