"Sonnet 60" tackles a theme common to many of William Shakespeare's sonnets: the relentless march of cruel, unfeeling time. Just as waves endlessly roll onto the shore, the speaker says, the moments of our lives endlessly roll forward toward death, robbing people of their beauty along the way. Part of what scholars call Shakespeare's "Fair Youth" sequence, the poem is addressed to a young man whom the speaker hopes to immortalize within the poem itself; the speaker argues that this sonnet will survive the test of time, and, in doing so, praise its addressee forevermore.
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The Full Text of “Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore”
1Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore,
2So do our minutes hasten to their end;
3Each changing place with that which goes before,
4In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
5Nativity, once in the main of light,
6Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
7Crooked eclipses 'gainst his glory fight,
8And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
9Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
10And delves the parallels in beauty's brow,
11Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth,
12And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
13And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
14Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
The Full Text of “Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore”
1Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore,
2So do our minutes hasten to their end;
3Each changing place with that which goes before,
4In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
5Nativity, once in the main of light,
6Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown'd,
7Crooked eclipses 'gainst his glory fight,
8And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
9Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
10And delves the parallels in beauty's brow,
11Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth,
12And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
13And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
14Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
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“Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore” Summary
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“Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore” Themes
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Time, Art, and Immortality
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore”
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Lines 1-2
Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end; -
Lines 3-4
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend. -
Lines 5-8
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. -
Lines 9-12
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: -
Lines 13-14
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
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“Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Caesura
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Consonance
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Metaphor
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Personification
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Analogy
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“Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Hasten
- Sequent
- Toil
- Contend
- Nativity
- Main
- Maturity
- Wherewith
- Eclipses
- 'Gainst
- Doth
- Confound
- Transfix
- Flourish
- Set On
- Delves
- Parallels
- Scythe
- Mow
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore” Speaker
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“Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore”
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More “Sonnet 60: Like as the waves make towards the pebbl'd shore” Resources
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External Resources
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Shakespeare's Sonnets — Find all the sonnets, plus some analysis, in one useful place!
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The Identity of the Fair Youth — Read about the debated identity of the sonnet's mysterious addressee.
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The Poem Out Loud — "Sonnet 60" read by the legendary Patrick Stewart.
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The First Edition of the Sonnets — See the poem in its original context: the 1609 Quarto edition.
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Time in Shakespeare's Sonnets — Learn more about how Shakespeare treats one of his favorite themes throughout his poetry.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Shakespeare
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