When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silvered o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer’s green all girded up in sheaves
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard;
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake
And die as fast as they see others grow,
And nothing 'gainst Time’s scythe can make defense
Save breed to brave him when he takes thee hence.
When I look at the clock and notice time ticking away, and see splendid day sink into hideous night; when I see the violet wilt and curly black hair turn white with age; when I see tall trees that once provided shade for herds now barren of leaves, and the summer’s crops tied up and hauled to the barn as if summer itself were an old man being carried off to his grave—then I have doubts about the fate of your beauty, since you too will have to undergo the ravages of time. Sweet and beautiful creatures don’t stay that way; they die as fast as they see others grow. And there’s no defense against Time’s destructive power, except perhaps to have children—to defy Time when he takes you away.
When I do count the clock that tells the time,
The speaker is in a state of counting the clock that tells the time. Here, he is talking about the day- the cycle of nature.
First of all, he started with time in general. Then he discusses day and night. He started with the day. And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
He personified the day as a brave man because he is going to face night. He is going to die.
Night is described as hideous, horrible. he is giving antitheses- contrast between hideous and brave, day and night.
The clock tells about the passage of time. The day is dying. it sunk in the hideous night. This is the cycle of night.
When I behold the violet past prime,
Violet= is a kind of flower that dies at the end of the season. They can not survive a season; can not live longer than a season. This is the cycle of nature. The violet has to die.
And sable curls all silvered o'er with white;
Sable= dark black curls of hair, when man gets old, they turn into white.
Nature has a cycle of birth, growth and death. Every thing in nature passes this circle- time- man- plants ……. all of these cycles are collected together.
in the first stanza, we could see the sequence, the passage of time , day goes to night, flowers die, black hair turns into white….. This is all about the passage of time in nature and in youth as well, life = birth- growth- decay- death . in the first quatrain, he concentrates on the day
2nd quatrain;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
He concentrates on nature . All of the leaves die. Trees are there naked. the trees are barren. There are no leaves on the trees
erst= former- before canopy= covering
During summer, these trees with rich green leaves used to provide shield for the sheep , to protect them from the heat of the sun. But now, in autumn season, there are no more leaves.
And summer’s green all girded up in sheaves
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard;
Sheaves= bundle- bunch
It is the harvest time, the time of collecting fruits. Summer is a season of harvest. The green leaves are now taken. There are no leaves.
bier= cart- carriage in which fruits are taken to the market
bristly= coarse- thick – stiff = the farmer is an aged man who is talking the cart to the market
Here, we have a progression of season, autumn then summer which is the harvest season. This is the cycle of nature
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake
And die as fast as they see others grow,
thy= your
He is addressing the young man. He is part of the cycle of nature. He is going to grow old. His beauty will fade away.
Time is passing. It can not be preserved. It can not be retreated. Time is moving. All of the beauties in nature change. They die as they see others grow. His beauty can not be preserved for ever. It is similar to the cycle of nature.
And nothing 'gainst Time’s scythe can make defense
Save breed to brave him when he takes thee hence.