A STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S SONNET 73

Abstract

This current study presents a stylistic analysis of William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73. It is carried out by applying varied levels of language which include phonology, graphology, morphology, semantics, lexicology and syntax/grammar. As stylistics is a scientific discipline which is amply useful in furnishing both literary and linguistics knowledge and critical inspection, this study aims to find out how different stylistic and linguistic devices are employed by the poet in the poem understudy in order to interpret their meaning clearly. In addition, this analysis is useful in comprehending the essential concepts of poem, i.e., aging and death and enhancing its message which the poet communicates by dint of these diverse stylistic and linguistic tools/devices. Although, this sonnet is quite personal in tone but renders general reality as its theme is universal. The analysis reveals that Shakespeare's words give the text a particularly Shakespearean feel, bringing images to life. The repetitions and rhyme in the language give the words more depth, texture, and variety. Conjured images become vivid and sensory-appealing. The sonnet's use of archaic vocabulary gives it a sense of antiquity and infinity. These words were employed in a beautiful and formal way. It seems sense that Sonnet 73 has endured in popularity from the Middle Ages to the Present.