Directions : Read the poem given below and answer the questions that follow by selecting the correct/most appropriate options :
That time of year thou mayst in me behold,
When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day,
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death’s second self that seals up all in rest.
In me thou seest the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed, whereon it must expire,
Consumed with that which it was nourished by.
This thou perceiv’st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.
What does ‘Death’s second self’ stand for ?
Correct Answer :
sleep that gives rest
Solution :
The correct option is sleep that gives rest.
In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 73, the speaker uses imagery to compare aging and the approach of death to three natural metaphors: late autumn, sunset/twilight, and a dying fire.
In the second stanza, the poet writes:
"In me thou seest the twilight of such day,
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death’s second self that seals up all in rest."
Here, "black night" is referred to as "Death's second self" because sleep and night temporarily shut down human activity and bring quiet rest, closely resembling the permanent state of death. Therefore, "Death's second self" stands for night/sleep that seals up everything in rest.
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