Sonnet LX, Shakespeare and Saturn
Our English Literature students are currently revising their poetry in anticipation of their Matsec exams (our version of O' Levels) and one of the poems up for study is Sonnet LX by William Shakespeare. Here it is: Simply put, in this sonnet Shakespeare ponders on the brevity and meaning of life, something he alludes to in both 'Macbeth' and 'As You Like It'. What caught my eye was 'And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow'. That is definitely a nod to the Grim Reaper - or in astrological terms, Saturn. The ancient Greeks often referred to Saturn as 'Chronos', from where the word 'chronological' comes to us, and was usually portrayed as an old man with a scythe. Until the 16th century, Saturn was believed to be the outermost planet in the solar system and it was for this reason, perhaps, that 'he' was considered to represent the outermost boundaries, the end, so to speak. Beyond him were the fixed stars. It is no wonder, then,...