TIME AS A PHILOSOPHICAL AND POETIC CATEGORY IN SHAKESPEARE’S SONNETS

Abstract

This research article offers an in-depth examination of time as a central philosophical, metaphysical,and poetic construct in William Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Focusing on selected sonnets (including 12, 18, 60, 65, 73, 94, 104, 116, 123, and 130),it engages in close reading and situates the texts within Renaissance intellectual and theological traditions. The analysis reveals that time in Shakespeare’s sonnets is multidimensional: destructive (eroding beauty and life), psychological (shaping emotional experience), moral (revealing virtue, vice, and consciousness), and artistic (offering a field for transcending mortality). Poetry is presented not merely as a lyrical medium but as a metaphysical strategy — a way of resisting temporal decay and granting some form of immortality. By synthesizing structural, figurative, and philosophical readings, this study contributes to our understanding of Renaissance notions of time, the sonnet form, and Shakespeare’s innovation in reconciling mortality with the enduring power of art.