SONNET 98
ORIGINAL TEXT
Sonnet 98
From you have I been absent in the spring,
When proud-pied April, dress’d in all his trim,
Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing,
That heavy Saturn laughed and leapt with him.
Yet nor the lays of birds, nor the sweet smell
Of different flowers in odour and in hue,
Could make me any summer’s story tell,
Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew:
Nor did I wonder at the lily’s white,
Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;
They were but sweet, but figures of delight,
Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.
Yet seemed it winter still, and you away,
As with your shadow I with these did play.
INTRODUCTION
Sonnet 98
Sonnet 98 appeals to me because it specifically makes me think about the times when I was with my grandfather and how so much of my inspiration and motivation came from him. I was caught by Shakespeare’s mention of “As with your shadow I with these did play” when describing only his shadow being there. The poem has an impact of those people who you wish that were with you now. I could only imagine them here, but I cannot touch or feel them. I wonder whether the speaker is addressing to someone he has lost or someone who is far away from him. The poem reminds me of my grandfather who was once here and to continue remembering him.
ANALYSIS
Sonnet 98
Shakespeare’s sonnet 98 describes the speaker’s longing for their absent friend through personification, lush nature imagery, and symbolism. The audience is the narrator’s friend whom he writes about. The speaker introduces their friend and the spring theme starting from the first line. In the second line, instead of expressing how the month of April is perceived, personification is employed. To show how April is a month of new blossoms and magnificence, the speaker visualizes April as a human being "dressed in all his trim” through personification. April is viewed as a lively figure throughout the sonnet. He puts a “spirit of youth” into the world to bring life to everything. Every description of spring helps paint the scenery. The speaker depicts springtime as a vibrant and joyous season throughout the sonnet, with the help of imagery such as "the lays of birds" and "the deep vermillion in the rose" to add to the extravagant scene. Towards the end of the sonnet, it is revealed that the spring is all inspired by their friend and "drawn after you–you pattern of all those" which reinforces spring’s symbolic nature. It is a representation of the speaker’s longing for their friend. The narrator can no longer admire the "lily's white," notwithstanding how lovely they are because their friend is no longer around. In the absence of their friend, the speaker claims that there is no such thing as spring, and it "seem’d like winter still".
