Sonnet XII When I DO Count the Clock

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Sonnet XII “When I DO Count the Clock That Tells the Time” (1609) William

Sonnet XII “When I DO Count the Clock That Tells the Time” (1609) William Shakespeare

When I Do Count the Clock That tells the Time 1. When I do

When I Do Count the Clock That tells the Time 1. When I do count the clock that tells the time, A 2. And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; B 3. When I behold the violet past prime, A 4. And sable curls all silver’d o’er with white; B 5. When lofty trees I see barren of leaves C 6. Which erst from heat did canopy the herd, D 7. And summer's green all girded up in sheaves C 8. Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard, D 9. Then of thy beauty do I question make, E 10. That thou among the wastes of time must go, F 11. Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake E 12. And die as fast as they see others grow; F 13. And nothing ‘gainst Time's scythe can make defence G 14. Save breed, to brave him when he takes thee hence. G

 • Speaking 1. Consider the title of the sonnet. Now discuss with your

• Speaking 1. Consider the title of the sonnet. Now discuss with your classmates what might be its theme. Choose between: 1. 2. Teaching a child how to tell the time The destructive power of the passing of time. GUIDED ANALYSIS 1. Focus on the structure a. Write down the sonnet’s rhyme scheme. – abab cdcd efef gg b. How many stanzas is the sonnet divided into? – It is divided into four stanzas. c. How many quatrains? How many couplets? – Three quatrains and a final couplet. d. How many stressed syllables are there to each line? – There are five stressed syllables to each line e. What is the name of this metrical foot? – Iambic pentameter.

2. Focus on the content. The quatrains and the final couplet are self-contained units.

2. Focus on the content. The quatrains and the final couplet are self-contained units. Say what the main subjects are in: THE FIRST QUATRAIN: the passing of time and the decay of natural things: “When I do count. . the time”; THE SECOND QUATRAIN: the passing of time and the decay of natural things “When lofty trees. . leaves”; THE THIRD QUATRAIN: the passing of time and old age: “That thou must. . . go”; THE COUPLET: procreation which can beat the passing of time and old age “Save breed. . . thee hence”; 3. Focus on the language a. Look at the opening words of the lines. Are there any recurrent words? What is the reason for this? • Yes, the words “When” and “And” are recurrent. The “And” line depends on the “When” line thus highlighting time and its consequences.

3. Focus on the language. b. In lines 1 – 8 a number of

3. Focus on the language. b. In lines 1 – 8 a number of changes in nature happen because of the passing of time. Complete the table. NATURAL ELEMENTS EFFECTS OF TIME brave day sunk in a hideous night (l. 2) violet past prime (l. 3) sable curls silver’d o’er with white (l. 4) lofty trees barren of leaves (l. 5) summer’s green girded up in sheaves (l. 7) c. The word time is mentioned three times in the sonnet. Quote: LINE 1 “the clock that tells the time”; LINE 10 “That thou among the wastes of time”; LINE 13 “And nothing ‘gainst Time scythe” ; d. The final couplet summarizes the meaning of the whole sonnet, giving it a witty, epigrammatic twist. What image or metaphor does it contain? • The image of time seen as death bearing a “scythe”, (typical in Medieval and Renaissance iconology) is left impotent by the presence of the fair youth’s progeny. Time is defied by leaving another image of ourselves, a son, in the world.

3. Focus on the language. e. Was the image of time as death already

3. Focus on the language. e. Was the image of time as death already present in the previous lines? Quote. • The image of time as death was already present in line 8 (“Bore on the bier”; and in lines 11 -12 (“Since sweets and beauties. . . /And die as fast as they see others grow”