I've had a distaste for Shakespeare since reading Romeo and Juliet in Freshman year. Typically, I read his name and skip over the work that follows. But this time the title (or the first line, because he didn't title so many of his poems) intrigued me.
Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end,
I tend to think of time in open landscapes: the desert or the hills, or--as in this case--a lake. Something endless, lapping, and continuous. There is always more of it to see, but you will only see it to an extent, because you will move on.
This is particularly poignant during senior year. This poem is not about death, exclusively, but any growing up and any parting. It makes me think of the many people I will not see after the end of this year. Even the ones I see will be different. Once we leave, we will never come back to who we are now. Out of the whole potential span of our lives and the monumental, unfathomable span of time, we only have so much time to spend together, and the minutes are so short. It is something different to know you will be going away, and to have that end fixed in sight. You are called away, and must go, but the end of the time you had is bittersweet. There was a flash of beauty there, and even to know that you are moving towards something greater, it is sad to watch beauty fade. So this is how we leave, wistfully hoping that we are remembered.
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
I haven't grown a deep fondness for Shakespeare either. I mean what he writes is beautiful and his plays are great (with the exception of Romeo and Juliet because it's overdone) but I don't really get him. But I did enjoy this poem because I found meaning behind the flowery words. I also drew a connection to Senior year and the fact that time flies and we move on. It's pretty, I love the meaning, Yup.
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