Why has Time been personified in Shakespeare's sonnet 'Not Marble Not Guilded Stones?

Answer 1

If we are talking about Sonnet 55, "Not marble nor the gilded monuments of princes", the poem is about Time, to be sure: time destroys all things, but a memory can be preserved in literature. There is a reference to time in line 4: "Than unswept stones, besmeared with sluttish time." At first look, this appears like a personification. The image is of abandoned buildings which get covered with dead leaves and other garbage if they are not swept up. It sounds at first like Time is personified as a bad housekeeper who has "besmeared" the stones. But surely, if that were the case, Shakespeare would have written "besmeared BY sluttish Time." When he says "besmeared WITH sluttish time" it sounds like time is like peanut butter smeared all over the steps, except that it's moss or slime or some similar substance. If that is the real meaning, then it's not a personification at all. The editor of my edition agrees, by not capitalizing "time", as he does every time it is used as a personification

But although he doesn't do it in this sonnet, Shakespeare loved personifying time. He does it often in the sonnets because the sonnets so often deal with the effects of time: "With Time's injuries hand crush'd and o'erworn (Sonnet 63), "By Time's fell hand defaced" (Sonnet 64), "Shall Time's best jewel from Time's chest lie hid?" (Sonnet 65), "Where wasteful Time debateth with Decay" (Sonnet 15) "Nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence" (Sonnet 12), "fearing of Time's tyranny" (Sonnet 115), "Love's not Time's fool" (Sonnet 116) are only some examples.

The ultimate personification of Time is in the play The Winter's Tale, when Time walks onto the stage as a character in the play.

Answer 2

Time is personified in Shakespeare's sonnet to highlight its power and ability to defy even the most grand and lasting monuments. The personification serves to emphasize Time's relentless nature in eroding all things, including beauty and immortality. By portraying Time as a force that outlasts even the most durable human-made structures, Shakespeare underscores the inevitability of decay and mortality.