To Me Fair Friend, You Never Can Be Old

T O M E FA I R F R I E N D , Y O U N E V E R C A N B E O L D . SONNET 104 Sonnet 104: To me, fair friend, you never can be old BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE To me, fair friend, you never can be old, For as you were when first your eye I eyed, Such seems your beauty still. Three winters cold Have from the forests shook three summers’ pride, Three beauteous springs to yellow autumn turned In process of the seasons have I seen, Three April perfumes in three hot Junes burned, Since first I saw you fresh, which yet are green. Ah, yet doth beauty, like a dial-hand, Steal from his figure, and no pace perceived; So your sweet hue, which methinks still doth stand, Hath motion, and mine eye may be deceived: For fear of which, hear this, thou age unbred: Ere you were born was beauty’s summer dead. Quatrain 1: In Shakespeare’s eyes his friend will never get old as the years went on and he stayed the same in his eyes. To me, fair friend, you never can be old, Hyperbole Alliteration- is uses a striking description of his friend. Connotation Exaggerates his admiration for his friend For as you were when first your eye I eyed. Imagery- Sense of sight (describes the condition when he met him/ her. Such seems your beauty, still. Three winters cold Personification- Winter has been given a human quality through the use of the word “shook” Imagery- Sense of touch/ feel Have from the forests shock three summers’ pride, Personification- Summer has been given a human quality through the use of the word “pride” Quatrain 2: Shakespeare further explains how the seasons pass and his friend stays the same. Three beauteous springs to yellow autumn turned Beauteous- wonderful Allows the reader to understand the time period that he had with his friend. Describes 3 years of the friendship. In process of the seasons have I seen, Connotation Three April perfumes in three hot Junes Assonance burned, Imagery- sense of smell. Sense of touch/ feel Personification- Only humans use Imagery perfumes April is spring and the blossoms give it perfumes Since first I saw you fresh, which yet are green. Metaphor- Green and fresh are metaphors for being young/ youthful and still-looking/ beautiful. Quatrain 3: Shakespeare compares his friend to a clock that is always moving but his friend’s appearance seems to have no change with the time passing. Shakespeare’s eyes deceive him because time has passed yet nothing has changed. Ah, yet doth beauty, like a dial-hand, Volta- Turning point Doth- moves forward Dial-hand- hands of a clock Steal from his figure and no peace perceived; Personification- Clock is personified through the use of “hands”, “steal” and “pace”. So your sweet hue, which methinks still Assonance doth stand, Methinks- seem Doth stand- unchanged Hath motion and mine eye may be deceived; Couplet: Shakespeare fears that his friend will lose his beauty as he grows older, but then says that beauty did not exist until he was born. For fear of which, hear this, thou age unbred: Age unbred- unborn generation Ere you were born was beauty’s summer dead. Ere- before Hyperbole- before his friend was born he didn’t know beauty. Rhyme, Rhythm and Meter • The rhyme scheme used is abab cdcd efef gg. • Makes use of Iambic penatameter  Each line has 5 feet and the stressing pattern is all iambs.  Iamb = foot or beat consists of unstressed followed by stressed syllable.  Pentameter means 5 meters.  Therefore a line has 5 Iambs.  E.g. : line 8 [Since first/ I saw/ you fresh/ which yet/ are green] Themes & Symbols • Symbols:  Changing of seasons and months (winter, summer and autumn, spring, April and June) Symbolizes how beauty is always moving forward like the time on a clock, or we can say that beauty will slowly change through times. The word ‘three winters and summers’ symbolizes three years. • Themes: o Struggles between time and beauty o Real beauty lasts forever o Even though time is ticking on, we don’t notice that we are getting older. Meaning • The general meaning of the poem is appreciating the beauty of your friend whom we have known for a long time and how beauty is changed by time; whether it remains its value or not. • At first the beauty and spirit of his friends is unchanged, but he may be wrong, as beauty is something that will fade with time including appearance. • Its doesn’t matter since it is due to his fear; he still sees his friend as the most beautiful and youthful person who could ever exist. • The couplet show the speaker actually announces his friend’s beauty is actually fading with the time and the unborn generation. • The reader would understand that the most beautiful thing to ever exist is already dead and they will never see the beauty in its perfect form when it was at the author’s peak flourishing. Mood & Shift • Beginning = affectionate • End- confusion.