Poetry · Chapter
Sonnet LV explained
The poet asserts that his verse will outlast marble, monuments, and even war, granting the beloved an eternal life through poetry that endures until Judgment Day.
What happens
The poet asserts that his verse will outlast marble, monuments, and even war, granting the beloved an eternal life through poetry that endures until Judgment Day.
Themes in this chapter
Art and Immortality
The poem claims that verse outlasts physical monuments and grants eternal life to the beloved.
Time and Mortality
Time is depicted as destructive and 'sluttish,' yet the poem defies its power.
Characters to notice
- William Shakespeare
The poet who promises immortality through his verse.
- Time
Personified as 'sluttish time' that besmears stone monuments.
- Death
The enemy against which the beloved shall pace forth.
Key passages
“Not marble, nor the gilded monuments Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme”
Neither marble statues nor the gold-covered tombs of royalty will last as long as this potent poem.
Opens with a bold claim for the endurance of poetry over physical memorials.
“But you shall shine more bright in these contents Than unswept stone besmear’d with sluttish time.”
You will gleam more brilliantly within these lines than a neglected statue stained by careless time.
Contrasts the beloved's radiant image in verse with a dirty, time-worn monument.
“’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room Even in the eyes of all posterity”
Against death and all hostile forces that cause forgetfulness, you will step forward; your praise will always have a place in the gaze of future generations.
Asserts that the beloved will triumph over oblivion and be remembered by all who come after.