By William Shakespeare
QUICK SUMMARY
Sonnet 60 meditates on the unstoppable passage of time. Shakespeare compares human life to waves moving toward a shore — relentless, rhythmic, and destined to break. In the face of decay, he hopes poetry can offer a form of resistance.
Full Poem: Sonnet 60 (1609)
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,
Crooked eclipses ’gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow;
Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
* And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,*
* Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.*
Originally published in the 1609 Quarto (1609) by William Shakespeare. Public domain.
Analysis
Sonnet 60 is one of Shakespeare’s most vivid and philosophical meditations on time. The poem blends imagery of nature, life’s developmental stages, and the destructive power of Time — imagined as both an inevitable force and a merciless tyrant. The structure of the sonnet mirrors the subject: steady, rhythmic, and relentless. Shakespeare moves from observation to lament and concludes with a final assertion of literary defiance.
The Wave Metaphor: Time as Endless Motion
The opening comparison is simple but profound:
“Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end.”
This metaphor establishes the emotional foundation of the sonnet. Waves are continuous, unstoppable, and indifferent to what they hit. Minutes, like waves, do not pause or retreat. The imagery of “pebbled shore” adds a tactile sense of resistance — the way waves strike stones echoes the way time wears away human life.
The phrase “sequent toil” reflects labor and inevitability. Each wave replaces the one before it, and each moment replaces the last. Shakespeare gives time a physical rhythm that the reader can feel.
The Life Cycle Compressed Into a Few Lines
The second quatrain shifts from general motion to the human life cycle. “Nativity” emerges into the “main of light,” a phrase that captures both birth and cosmic positioning. The newborn crawls into maturity, eventually rising to a point of “glory.” But this glory is fragile.
“Crooked eclipses ’gainst his glory fight” introduces the idea that life is not simply a linear ascent. Eclipses — darkness covering light — represent obstacles, illnesses, and accidents that threaten human achievement. Shakespeare blends astronomical imagery with emotional vulnerability, suggesting that even the brightest lives can be overshadowed.
Time as Creator and Destroyer
Shakespeare then reveals the bitter paradox of the human condition:
“And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.”
Time gives life, strength, and beauty — yet it takes all of them away. The sonnet emphasizes this contradiction. Time’s generosity is temporary and its destruction inevitable.
This dual nature of Time is central to Shakespeare’s tragic outlook. Humans cannot escape decline, no matter how virtuous, talented, or beloved they are.
The Brutality of Time’s Hand
The third quatrain is the darkest:
“Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow.”
Time “transfixes” — literally pierces or immobilizes — the beauty of youth. The “parallels” in the brow are wrinkles, carved like furrows into a field. Shakespeare imagines Time as both sculptor and executioner.
It “feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,” consuming beauty, talent, uniqueness — everything humans prize. The line “And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow” is stark. Time is a reaper, agricultural and deadly. Everything living grows only to be cut down.
The tone of these lines is almost apocalyptic in its bleakness.
The Poetic Rebellion Against Time
After twelve lines of inevitability, the final couplet shifts dramatically:
“And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.”
Here Shakespeare introduces the same solution seen in Sonnets 18, 55, and others: poetry as resistance. While time destroys physical beauty, memories recorded in verse endure. Even though Time is cruel and all-consuming, Shakespeare believes that his poem will survive “to times” — future generations.
This is both self-assured and tender. The speaker promises the beloved a form of immortality through language. The poem itself becomes a monument that time cannot mow down.
The Emotional and Philosophical Impact
Sonnet 60 captures the tension between despair and hope. The imagery of waves and the cycle of life situates humans in a world of unavoidable decline. Yet Shakespeare’s final assertion of poetic endurance pushes back against fatalism.
What makes this sonnet powerful is its understanding of time not merely as an external force, but as an internal emotional experience: the pressure of change, the loss of youth, the fading of potential, the urgency to preserve what matters.
Sonnet 60 stands as a reminder that while humans cannot stop time, they can create meaning — and art — that lasts beyond their lives.