The Sonnets of William Shakespeare
Sonnet 55
Not marble nor the gilded* monuments
Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rime*;
But you shall shine more bright in these contents*
Than unswept stone, besmeared* with sluttish* time.4 When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils* root out the work of masonry*,
Nor Mars his sword* nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.8 'Gainst death and all oblivious enmity*
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room
Even in the eyes of all posterity*
That wear this world out to the ending doom.12 So, till the judgment* that yourself* arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.
VOCABULARY
gilded--to decorate something with a coat of gold
rime--rhyme
in these contents-- in this poem
besmeared--to smear, or soil, something
sluttish--characteristic of an immoral woman
broils--brawls, fights
Nor Mars his sword-- Mars' sword (Mars is the Roman god of war)
all oblivious enmity--war and hatred which causes everything else to be erased
and forgotten
Judgment-- Judgment Day, when the world will come to an end and all the dead
will arise
that yourself-- when you yourself
QUESTIONS
- Is the rhyme scheme in Sonnet 55 different as in Sonnet 18?
- Are marble or gold monuments everlasting tributes? What, according to the poem, is bound to happen to them?
- How does the narrator find a way to preserve the memory of a person endure beyond the life of even monuments of stone?
- What statement is Shakespeare making about poetry in both Sonnet 18 and 55?
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