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That time of yeare thou mayst in me behold,
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, doe hange
Upon those boughes which shake against the could,
Bare ruin'd quiers, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twi-light of such day,
As after Sun-set fadeth in the West,
Which by and by blacke night doth take away,
Death's second selfe that seals up all in rest.
In me thou seest the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lye,
As the death bed, whereon it must expire,
Consum'd with that which it was nurrisht by.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.
the choir (quier) is the part of the church where the priest stands, and where the choir sings. In churches builit in the gothic style, the architecture resembles over-arching boughs. Consumed with that which it was nourished by: meaning that the wood which at first nourished the fire, changed to ashes, puts out the fire.
Commentary
Commentary
Address to his beloved
Address to his beloved
Changes to the original text: line 4, 'rn'wd' changed to 'ruin'd'
Each quatrain takes a different theme: in the first, it is the seasons; in the second, it is the day; in the third, it is the fire.
In the first quatrain, the poet tells his beloved that he resembles a tree that has lost most of its leaves.
In the second quatrain, the poet likens himself to the end of the day with black night (death) about to arrive to sweep everything away.
In the third quatrain, the poet likens himself to a fire burning down, being extinguished by its own ashes.
In the final couplet, the poet asserts (hopes) that, given his decrepit state, his beloved will love him better, given that he (the beloved) will have to leave him (the poet) soon.
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