The Yellow Wallpaper

Theme: Old age In Sonnet 73 Elliot Drange

English 102

4-25-07

Sonnet 73 contains some of the most pressing symbolism. The speaker is regarding the symbol of old age which is described in this short sonnet by developing symbolism through a sequence of metaphors that each imply something different. The symbol would be old age.

In The first quatrain, which employs the metaphor of the winter day (Pg. 826 Line 1 and 2), emphasizes the harshness and emptiness of old age, with its boughs shaking against the cold and its "bere ruined choirs"(Pg. 826 Line 4) regarding a bereft (unhappy in love) birdsong.

In the second quatrain, the symbolism shifts to that of twilight, and emphasizes not the chill of old age, but rather the gradual fading of the light of youth, as "black night" (Pg. 826 line 7) takes away the light "by and by" (Pg 826 Line 7). But in each of these quatrains, with each of these metaphors, the speaker fails to confront the full scope of his problem: both the metaphor of winter and the metaphor of twilight imply cycles, and impose cyclical motions upon the objects of their metaphors, whereas the symbol, old age is final. Winter follows spring, but spring will follow winter just as surely; and after the twilight fades, dawn will come again. In human life, however, the fading of warmth and light is not cyclical; youth will not come again for anyone.

In the third quatrain, he must resign himself to this fact. The image of the fire consumed by the ashes of its youth is significant both for its brilliant disposition of the past. Ashes of which eventually extinguish the fire, "consumed by that which it was nourished by"(Pg 826 line 12) and for the fact that when the fire is extinguished, it can never