2/14/15

In Shakespeare’s, “Sonnet 73”, and Bradbury’s novel, Dandelion Wine, Shakespeare and Bradbury share a similar outlook on the theory of time. Whether taking to a lover or young child Shakespeare explains to love what one has been blessed with, such as youth, because in time it is gone. Bradbury shows through his novel that with time comes loss of life, memories, or once again youth in order to understand that life is not a forever blessing. Shakespeare and Bradbury both convey the same idea that time carries on and in its wake creates destruction to all generations. The authors of the novel and poem both represent the passing of time, process of aging, and the event of death.

Shakespeare and Bradbury’s view on time is that time passes and with it, carries grievances even events as minor as the changing of a season. When explaining time in the real world Shakespeare illustrates the change as “yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang” as one season to another. Time is also conveyed as life in Shakespeare’s sonnet and that “after sunset fadeth in the west” too much time has slipped through the human fingertips, “whereon it must expire” to show to what extent time is or is not cherished on earth. Similarly, Bradbury explains the perception of time depends on longevity, whether one is a child like Douglass who believes that time is infinitely on his own schedule, or an elder who has accepted the idea that “saving cocoons” and “corsets in a way, you can never fit again” are only landmarks that what was in the past is exactly that, in the past, and never to return. As Shakespeare expresses his view that young ones must accept the fact that time brings them closer to another year or again and the cycle continues. Therefore both authors write a similar point of view on time through different generations and perspectives.

The authors opinions regarding the process of aging is very similar and is either resolved with love or an epiphany. In “Sonnet 73” Shakespeare has his mind set on convincing his love that aging is an inevitable process and that with life comes the warning of death and with the warning of death comes life. For example, aging is illustrated as “the glowing of such fire” where “the ashes of youth doth lie”. Aging is a process that affects everyone’s glowing fire inside of them, which in time, will burn out. Therefore, we are to “love that well, which thou must leave ere long” and embrace adulthood or face the inevitable, death. Similarly, Bradbury explains aging through the eyes of the elderly Helen Loomis when he illustrates that “the dragon ate the white swan, I haven’t seen her in ages.” The beauty of a young life will soon be consumed by the older years, turning oneself into a “scaly beast”, further demonstrating that the beautiful and loved will transform into the ugly and hated. Likewise, age is “consumed with that which is was nourished by”. Shakespeare and Bradbury’s understanding of aging leading to the ultimate price of life is resolved with love of the upcoming years or understanding the inevitable.

Shakespeare and Bradbury convey the process of death as passing on to another life which offers a measure of hope. “Sonnet 73” represents death as a two step process. First there must be a death by realization that the time of child’s play is over and stepping into adulthood, and “death’s second self” is the event of physical death by entering the awaiting grave “that seals up all in rest”. Similarly, Bradbury sets the scene in a room where all kids and adults are grieving over their dying grandmother. Even on her death bed she is convinced that she will not truly die, “a thousand years from now a whole township of my offspring will be eating sour apples in the gum wood shade.” Grandma, similar to Shakespeare, believes she will live through future generations until forgotten, and that will be “death’s second self”. Furthermore, Grandma relaxes the minds of loved ones that “no person ever really dies that had a family”, concluding that she will only die once. Therefore, both authors present the idea that death, whether religiously, spiritually, or physically the process of death is passing onto another life.

Shakespeare and Bradbury’s sensitivity to the themes of time, aging, and death resemble each other in many ways explaining their vivid perspective about their life and warning young readers about their undeniable future.