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Seasons portrayed in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and William Shakespeare’s Sonnets

English literature often begins by describing the mood and  atmosphere of the background . One such  example is the opening of The Canterbury Tales written by  Geoffrey Chaucer he introduces not a character, but a season:

> “Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote

> The droghte of March hath perced to the roote…”

April arrives with a gentle nature yet decisive in its approach . The dryness of March is followed by the breeze which renews earth. Chaucer doesn’t consider this as a mere background description. Instead, the change in season to change in the human behavior:

> “Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages…”

Spring stirs the people to feel the urge to travel, to explore, to go beyond routine. The natural world and human intention are closely tied to each other. The themes like  seasons and inner life continues are a recurring instances particularly in the sonnets of William Shakespeare.

In William Shakespeare’s sonnets the spring is  associated with youthfulness and new beginnings, yet he complicates that idea. For example in Sonnet 98, he writes:

> “From you have I been absent in the spring,

> When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim…”

Through this lines we can realise that the nature is in full bloom, somehow the speaker feels disconnected. The flowers and progress  loses their meaning in the absence of a dear one. Here, spring does not automatically bring joy. Instead, the lines highlights emotional lack. This portrays the idea that  literature can question even the most familiar seasonal associations and vice-versa.

Another association with the season is seen in another sonnet of Shakespeare. In sonnet 18  Shakespeare introduces summer is  seen at the peak of beauty and fulfillment . Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 is perhaps the most well-known example which describes about summer:

> “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

> Thou art more lovely and more temperate.”

At first the summer season as an ideal one but later the poem  points out its weakness :

> “And summer’s lease hath all too short a date…”

Summer does not last forever, signifying the earthliness of of life . Its beauty fades just like youth. Shakespeare’s idea is to preserve that beauty in verse, suggesting that poetry can outlast time. In this way the summer becomes both a celebration and a reminder of impermanence in nature and life.

 The Autumn season has a  quieter mood in Shakespeare’s sonnet 73. It is more about reflection than progress . In sonnet 73S hakespeare uses autumn to describe aging process or caducity:

> “That time of year thou mayst in me behold

> When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang…”

The imagery is that of a  simple and falling leaves from the thinning branches. The sonnet records the stable recognition of change. The poem doesn’t end with sadness rather, it portrays that awareness of time can deepen our  affections towards each other. Thus teaching that temporary are more valuable.

To begin with April is not at all an accidental thing by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is his way of starting a fresh renewal, but connecting with the memory of what came before us. The “droghte of March” is still present in the background, making the “shoures soote” more significant. Literature  reminds us that through each seasons every beginning carries traces of an ending and every ending allows for another beginning. Yet the beauty of seasons change with each authors perspective.

Thank You

P. Riya

Assistant Professor of English

Al Shifa College of Arts and Science, Keezhattur.