Sonnet 73

From sonnet 73, I get the sense that Shakespeare is warning the young man to be cautionary and to appreciate youth. He is almost using himself as an example of aging, saying that he resembles the time of year when leaves on the trees turn yellow or have fallen, and the cold winter weather is on the way. He is alluding to the fact that death is inevitable. Shakespeare compares death to night and sleep, saying that all three are comparable. The first comparison is death and night in the seventh line, which reads “which by and by black night doth take away”. By saying that black night takes away the sunset fading in the West, it signifies an end. In the very next line, Shakespeare writes “Death’s second self that seals up all in rest”, which compares death to sleep. Correspondingly, another powerful line from the sonnet is line 10, because he refers to himself as the ashes of the fire of youth. This yet again refers to the indication of death.