What does "Death's second self" mean in line 8 of Shakespeare's Sonnet 73?
I have long disagreed with the common interpretation of this sonnet. Although I agree that the images of night, bare trees, etc., are symbols for the passing of time, and that "Death's second self" could simply be a reference to this, I cannot help to think that this poem is about self-love, not the love of another. It is about the sadness of knowing that even the most brilliant of minds can wither and slow down with the passing of time.
Consider these lines as a whole:
"Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st 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 nourish'd by."
Death has two states: Its approach and its presence. A mind also only has two states: Thinking and the inability to...
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think. Thinking - his driving life force - marked the speaker’s life. Age slows the mind and even 'death' can appreciate a well-used one.
"Death's second self" refers to night, and is just a continuation of the idea began in that quatrain at line 5:
"In me thou see'st 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."
Death and sleep were rather interconnected to the Elizabethans, and Shakespeare uses that motif often in his writing (Hamlet discourses a great deal about death and sleep in his famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy).
The speaker of the sonnet is reminding whoever he is speaking to that his looks, his body, are aging, and he is entering the twilight (darkness) of life in preparation for death.
Check the links below for more information about the sonnets. The link to "themes" is especially good and actually discusses sonnet 73 specifically. Good luck! :)
Why is the black night referred to as death's second self in Sonnet 73?
Just to make it clear, this line actually comes from "Sonnet 73." This particular poem is a rumination on old age, and largely consists of a collection of appropriate metaphors. So for instance, the speaker refers to "twilight" and the sunset that "fadeth in the West." The speaker is preparing for what he perceives to be his imminent demise, and wants the young man whom he addresses not to be sad, but actually to take heart from this. The hope is that the young man's love will gain strength from a greater understanding of death, fortifying him against the inevitable sorrow that will be occasioned by the speaker's passing:
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long.
The speaker describes the dark of night as "death's second self." What he means by this is that night is just like death in that it is a time of darkness and rest. The difference, however, is that the darkness and rest of death are permanent. Death also takes away the light of life just as night takes away the light of the day. Given the close imaginative connection between the two, we can see why the speaker invokes the black of night as a metaphor for death.
References
What is the meaning of lines 5 and 8, and "death's second self" in Shakespeare's Sonnet 73?
These lines refer to death being akin to the night. There are three images in this sonnet to pay attention to: fall, twilight, and embers. All three are reflective of the process of aging.
The lines you are inquiring about read: 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 the rest.
Line 5 "the twilight of such day" refers to getting older. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Therefore, the speaker is addressing the eclipse of life.
Line 8, "Death's second self" is also in reference to the dying process; "seals up" means encloses, as in enclosing life. Death will finally "seal up" all that we have experienced and endured in life.