Devouring Time

Devouring Time, blunt though the lion’s paws,

And make the earth devour her own sweet brood;

Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger’s jaws,

And burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood;

Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleets,

And do whate’er thou wilt, swift-footed Time,

To the wide world and all her fading sweets;

But I forbid thee one most heinous crime:

O, carve not with thy hours my love’s fair brow,

Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen;

Him in thy course untainted do allow

For beauty’s pattern to succeeding men.

Yet, do thy worst, old Time: despite thy wrong,

My love shall in my verse ever live young.

Time is the one factor in this world that does not change for anyone or anything. Everyday I’m sure you hear “there isn’t enough time in the day” or “I wish I could go back in time,” but no matter how much we grumble, time keeps going at the same pace it’s been moving at for the past 4.55 billion years. Many aspects of our lives change over time, such as our preferences, our physicality and mentality, and our peers. Nonetheless, there is the chance that some pieces remain stable and firm. One slice of life’s complicated pie is the expression of love. While growing up, individuals learn to what they are and are not attracted. A guy may like blondes in high school, but then develop an infatuation for brunettes in college. However, when the masses find true love, the object of their perfection is quite permanent for them. If they even believe in such a thing, seeming perfection stays with them. Love becomes a necessary part of the body, like the heart or liver. Shakespeare’s nineteenth sonnet talks of the changes time can bring; blunting the lion’s paws, plucking the teeth from a tiger’s jaw, even making the earth devour her own sweet brood. The narrator of the sonnet, however, forbids one aspect from Time’s “most heinous crime to the wide world and all her fading sweets”, and that is his love. Time is not allowed to change his love’s face (19.9-10), the image of beauty, but it is allowed to leave its mark on succeeding men (19.11-12). “Yet, do thy worst, old Time: despite thy wrong, my love shall in my verse ever live young” (19.13-14) No matter what time does to the world and all its components, his love will never change.

In Shakespeare’s Much Ado about Nothing, Claudio is a young soldier who falls in love with Hero, daughter of the wealthy nobleman Leonato. The term “love at first sight” is best to describe the relationship between Claudio and Hero; Claudio is strongly influenced by what he sees, and after looking at Hero, he instantly fell in love and they agree to be married. The antagonist of the play, Don John, hears of this marriage and looks to ruin the ideal relationship by setting up a vindictive act. With the help of his henchman, Borachio, he makes Claudio believe that Hero is cheating on him by showing him a false Hero having intercourse in front of an open window. The dramatic irony is that the audience knows it’s really Borachio’s woman, Margaret, but Claudio truly thinks its Hero. On the wedding day, Claudio refuses to marry Hero and accuses her cheating. Since everyone believes Claudio, who is backed up by Don Pedro the Prince, Hero is slandered and scolded for committing such a foul act. The friar suggests that Leonato should tell everyone Hero is dead, hoping that the framers would come clean after hearing that an innocent girl has died from grief and shame. This would represent the effects of time; “And do whate’er thou wilt, swift-footed Time, To the wide world and all her fading sweets” (19.6-7).

In act V, scene iii, Claudio visits Hero’s tomb, mourning her believed death, and reading an epitaph that Leonato ordered him to write. He may as well have written Shakespeare’s Sonnet 19 instead. He posted it onto the tomb wall and promised to read it on that day, every year.  This dedication shows that Claudio still has feelings for Hero, even though he thinks she has done him wrong. “Now, unto thy bones good night! Yearly will I do this rite” (V.iii.24-25). The sonnet should actually take the place of Claudio’s epitaph, since he is showing that his love for Hero will not change over time, even if time has taken Hero’s life.

Time is a continuous freight train on a never-ending track. You could try to stop it as much as you can, but it’ll keep pushing forward. Many qualities of life change dramatically over time, but there is always a certain handful that can stay the same and that can be retained by the written word. Lucky for Claudio, his love for Hero initially faltered, but stayed strong in the end, and this is proven by his writing of her epitaph.