In both "Sonnet 97" and "Sonnet 98" the speaker speaks about a time when the young man went away from him for some reason. The poems chronicle the effects of the young man's absence on the speaker. Both poems also use seasonal imagery to suggest the feelings of the speaker. In the first sonnet, the imagery of fall and winter reflects the theme. In the second of these sonnets, the poet uses the season of spring.
The poet uses a simile in the beginning of "Sonnet 97" to describe the feeling of absence. The absence of the young man is "like a winter" to the speaker. But the actual time of the young man's absence occurred during the summer (line 5). However, since winter is the coldest and darkest season of the year, that season better reflects the emotions of the speaker while the young man is away. The "bareness" (line 4) of the winter season, when trees are barren of leaves and when many plants have withered and turned brown, also reflects the speaker's emotions. The emptiness of the landscape reflects the emptiness that he feels within his own heart.
The fact that the young man's absence actually occurs during the summer also causes the sad speaker to ponder his situation. In the second quatrain the speaker adds that the harvest of the crops, as autumn (or fall) approaches, does not do anything to cheer his mood. The poet uses a complex