By William Shakespeare

(Sonnet 55)

Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments

Anuradha Mishra

Paramita Nanda

Licky Priyadarshini

Prerna Patjoshi

Group Members

The word “sonnet” is derived from the word “sonetto”, meaning “a little sound” or “a little song”. A Sonnet is a poem of 14 lines with a structured rhyme scheme in which thought about a subject is developed thoroughly.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE THE POET

About the Poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was

born in Stratford-upon-Avon. He is considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time. He wrote 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems and about three dozen plays. Shakespeare used poetic and dramatic means to create unified aesthetic effects. In verse he perfected the dramatic blank verse.

Some other sonnets of William ShakespeareSonnet 41. Those petty wrongs that

liberty commitsSonnet 64. When I have seen by Time’s

fell hand defacedSonnet 109. O, never say that I was false

of heartSonnet 6. Then let not winter’s ragged

hand deface

The poem

Not marble, nor the gilded monumentsOf princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;But you shall shine more bright in these contentsThan upswept stone, besmear’d with sluttish time.

When wasteful war shall statues overturn,And broils root out the work of masonry,Nor Mars his sword, nor war's quick fire shall burnThe living record of your memory.

'Gainst death, and all oblivious enmityShall you pace forth; your praise shall still find roomEven in the eyes of all posterityThat wear this world out to the ending doom.

So, till the judgment that yourself arise,You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.

meaningsGilded: covered with gold; gold-platedUnwept stone: a stone monument left

uncared forBesmear’d: tarnished; stainedSluttish: of unclean habits and behaviorBroils: fighting, disturbances especially in

warMars: the god of warQuick: lively; fast moving

Living record: the written memory of your life which continues after you are dead

Gainst: againstOblivious enmity: enmity which is forgetful

of everything and so seeks to destroy everything

Pace forth: stride forwardsPosterity: future generationsDoom: the day on which the Last

Judgement will occur

Explanation & analysis "Not marble, nor the gilded monuments / Of princes,

shall outlive this powerful rhyme;" Statues and monuments will not last as long as

this poem. This is the moment the reader learns of the importance of poetry to the speaker.

"But you shall shine more bright in these contents / Than unswept stone, besmeared with sluttish time."

And you will last longer, immortalized in this poem, than the stone statues and monuments, which will fade and become dusty over time.

"When wasteful war shall statues overturn, / And broils root out the work of masonry,"

War and other disturbances will destroy statues and monuments; now the speaker is trying to conjure the devastating image of war in the reader's mind. This is an effective technique which has the reader visualizing the work of men being blown apart and statues being toppled to the ground.

"Nor Mars his sword, nor war's quick fire shall burn / The living record of your memory."

But poetry, which memorializes you, cannot be destroyed by these means.

"'Gainst death, and all oblivious enmity / Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room,"

You shall outlast death and all other forces that seek to destroy things. Here the poet informs his beloved that through poetry her memory is protected against death and that she will be unmindful of her enemies.

"Even in the eyes of all posterity / That wear this world out to the ending doom."

Even for future generations. How ironic that the beloved will even be remembered by future generations that will drag this world toward the annihilation of mankind.

"So, till the judgment that yourself arise, / You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes."

So you will live in this poem until judgment day. This is when the reader comes to the realization that even now the beloved in immortal through this poem. She lives in the eyes of lovers.

Summary William Shakespeare's poem "Not marble, nor the

gilded monuments" brings the reader to the sense of what is not important. His title captivates the reader's imagination with images of coldness and wealth. But as the true meaning of the poem is made known, we learn that it is a poem about love.

Monuments are made for the wealthy who want to keep the memory of someone alive. The tone Shakespeare creates in this poem is that poetry is like a monument in keeping a work of significance but that it is much more immortal being handed down from generation to generation. The image that materializes in the reader's mind is that a poem will transcend time and will leave behind the material things of this life. Shakespeare was prophetic in believing that this poem would stand the test of time.

This Shakespearean sonnet makes the reader wonder if Shakespeare was writing about his mistress or just his love of poetry. His contrast of love with war made the poem very effective and leaves the reader with the reality that love is the most important thing in life.

commentary A famous sonnet which rings changes on the

theme celebrated by Horace - Exegi monumentum aere perennius (I have built a monument more lasting than bronze...) 

but here given a new meaning in that it is the

loved one who is immortalised, rather than the poet. The poet is himself only the instrument to accomplish this end and he humbly celebrates the glory of the youth The sonnet shares its theme with that of several others, 18, 19, 65, 81, 107, 123, which oppose the power of verse to death and Time's cruel knife, and promise immortality to the beloved. Curiously enough, it does not seem to make any difference that the verse immortalises the youth without revealing him, for the very fact of immortality seems to confer anonymity.

The concluding couplet seems to be entirely satisfying, and we do not need to press further enquiries on the poet and demand to know who it is to whom eternal life is given. It is enough that he lives in lovers' eyes, for they comprehend all mysteries, and perhaps, on the last day, at the ending doom, we will know all the answers anyway, and realise that they were not all that important.

Thank You