Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
The sonnet begins on a  trochaic metrical foot  — that is, with the emphasis on the first syllable.  This launches the reader into the line about waves approaching the shore. The ebb and flow of wave imagery becomes established in the mind of the reader. 
 Note also that it starts with a  simile  that forms an initial subordinate clause, leading to the main clause in the next line, injecting a note of suspense. This is clever craftsmanship by the Bard. 

Sonnet 60