SUMMARY AND THEME OF THE POEM "NOT MARBLE NOR THE GILDED MONUMENTS(SONNET 55)" BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Rhyme scheme of the sonnet;- abab, cdcd, efef, gg.
Hope it helps .
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NOT MARBLE NOR THE GILDED MONUMENTS
I have built a monument more lasting than bronze / And taller than the regal peak of the pyramids... / I shall never completely die. In Horace 's Ode 3.30, it is himself who will be immortalized by his poetry, but in the case of Sonnet 55, Shakespeare seeks to build a figurative monument to his beloved, the fair lord.
However, the fair lord is not described or revealed in anyway in this sonnet; instead, the sonnet just addresses the idea of immortality through verse. The final couplet addresses this problem with the assurance that it doesn 't matter, since "You live in this, and dwell in lovers ' eyes." It is enough that the fair lord lives in "lovers ' eyes," or the eyes of the poet and presumably everyone else who sees him. The reference to judgment day in lines 12-13 also suggests that perhaps the identity of the fair lord will be revealed then.
This theme of immortality through verse is common in Shakespeare 's sonnets. For example, in Sonnet 18, the speaker assures the fair lord that he will not die, "When in eternal lines to time thou growest." Sonnet 19 admits that Time will eventually destroy the fair lord by disfiguring him and killing him, but ends with a challenge: "Yet, do thy worst, old Time: despite thy wrong, / My love shall in my verse ever live young." Sonnet 65 bemoans that fleeting beauty stands no chance against the ravages of time, but hopes "That in black ink my love may still shine bright."
The ravages of time is a recurring theme in Shakespeare 's sonnets; often it is addressed in terms of its unavoidable effect on beauty and youth, specifically that of the fair lord, but here its effects on statues and monuments is the focus. "Wasteful war," "broils," the sword of Mars (the god of war), and "war 's quick fire" are seen as the chief causes of the destruction of statues and monuments, in addition to "sluttish time." Here, "sluttish" means lewd and whorish, and characterizes time as apathetic to the orderliness of the world.
Line 13 refers to "the judgment that yourself arise," or judgment day. In religious tradition, judgment day is the point at which all souls, even those that have been dead for a long time (including that of the fair lord) will "arise" to be judged by God. This day is also referred to as "the ending doom" in line 12; "posterity," or future generations, live in the world until that final day when everyone is judged. After that day, there is no further reason for immortalizing anyone in poetry.
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The narrator begins the sonnet by saying that neither marble nor "gilded" (to overlay with or as if with a thin covering of gold) "monuments of princes" will "outlive this powerful rhyme." This is a bold statement for the narrator to make; he asserts that his writing is more valuable than even the most expensive royal artifacts. The phrase "powerful rhyme" also calls to mind the adage "the pen is mightier than the sword," which was coined by the English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 in his playRichelieu; or the Conspiracy. The narrator then goes on to compare two things that really aren't comparable: the young man will shine more bright in these verses than an un-swept stone that is "besmeared with sluttish (slovenly) time;" or put in another way the young man will shine more brightly in these verses "than in a stone tomb or effigy that time wears away and covers with dust" (Greenblatt 1066). The young man is described as bright and the tomb is described as dark and dusty; so there is really no contest, the young man is automatically deemed more attractive.
The young man's life and beauty will never be forgotten. "Wasteful" (ruin/ pointless) wars will ruin beloved statues, and "broils" (battles) will lay waste to the mason's work, but the young man's memory will prevail. Mars is the Roman god of war, in the Roman tradition it was said that people died happily on his battlefield; while his Greek counterpart Ares, was said to be a ruthless and murderous god of war (Hamilton 34-5). Neither Mars, one of the greatest warriors of all time, nor fire will be able to erase these verses.
The young man will continue forth against death and all "oblivious" (the condition of being forgotten) "enmity" (ill-will). His beauty will continue to be praised in all posterity (future generations) until the "ending doom" (Judgment Day). In Christianity, Judgment Day follows the resurrection of the dead and the second coming of Christ, and it is when God judges all humans and decides if they are worthy to enter into heaven.
In the final couplet, the narrator declares that his beloved will enter into heaven upon Judgment Day, but until that day comes he will forever be alive in these verses and be loved by all who read them.
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The narrator begins the sonnet by saying that neither marble nor "gilded" (to overlay with or as if with a thin covering of gold) "monuments of princes" will "outlive this powerful rhyme." This is a bold statement for the narrator to make; he asserts that his writing is more valuable than even the most expensive royal artifacts. The phrase "powerful rhyme" also calls to mind the adage "the pen is mightier than the sword," which was coined by the English author Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 in his playRichelieu; or the Conspiracy. The narrator then goes on to compare two things that really aren't comparable: the young man will shine more bright in these verses than an un-swept stone that is "besmeared with sluttish (slovenly) time;" or put in another way the young man will shine more brightly in these verses "than in a stone tomb or effigy that time wears away and covers with dust" (Greenblatt 1066). The young man is described as bright and the tomb is described as dark and dusty; so there is really no contest, the young man is automatically deemed more attractive.
The young man's life and beauty will never be forgotten. "Wasteful" (ruin/ pointless) wars will ruin beloved statues, and "broils" (battles) will lay waste to the mason's work, but the young man's memory will prevail. Mars is the Roman god of war, in the Roman tradition it was said that people died happily on his battlefield; while his Greek counterpart Ares, was said to be a ruthless and murderous god of war (Hamilton 34-5). Neither Mars, one of the greatest warriors of all time, nor fire will be able to erase these verses.
The young man will continue forth against death and all "oblivious" (the condition of being forgotten) "enmity" (ill-will). His beauty will continue to be praised in all posterity (future generations) until the "ending doom" (Judgment Day). In Christianity, Judgment Day follows the resurrection of the dead and the second coming of Christ, and it is when God judges all humans and decides if they are worthy to enter into heaven.
In the final couplet, the narrator declares that his beloved will enter into heaven upon Judgment Day, but until that day comes he will forever be alive in these verses and be loved by all who read them.
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Theme:
?Sonnet 55? by William Shakespeare has two themes: the passing of time and the immortalizing of a young man. The first half of Shakespeare?s sonnets shared out with his love for a young man and forever keeping him alive through the sonnets that Shakespeare wrote.
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With passage of time, they stand lost and fogetten. However, the poet's work of art will outlive the transient monuments and will be remembered in the times to come.
Cheers!
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