Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme but you shall shine more bright in these contents.
Theme of the sonnet not marble nor the gilded monuments.
This phrase translates to i have built a monument more lasting than bronze and taller than the regal peak of the pyramids.
I shall never completely die.
In this sonnet the bard talks about the futility of worldly glory and material attempts at immortalization.
Shakespeare s 55 th sonnet deals with the unique theme of immortality through verse.
Not marble nor the gilded monuments sonnet 55 william shakespeare 1564 1616.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn and broils root out the work of masonry.
But you shall shine more bright in these contents.
Sonnet 55 builds on the theme of poetry outlasting physical monuments to the dead.
With the passage of time these monuments would wear a neglected look and unfaithful time would take its toll and leave the monuments.
This theme of immortality through verse is common in shakespeare s sonnets.
Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme.
A reading of a classic shakespeare sonnet not marble nor the gilded monuments is one of the more famous poems in shakespeare s sequence of 154 sonnets.
He refers to princes great rulers and the rich who have sought to immortalize themselves or what they love through monuments statues and memorials.
Not marble nor the gilded monuments.
But you shall shine more bright in these contents.
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 poem is a version of the popular conceit that the poet s words can make his lover immortal through rhyme.
Not marble nor the gilded monuments says that his verse will survive longer than the marble statues and the gold plated monuments of the rich and powerful.
Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme but you shall shine more bright in these contents.
Sonnet 55 builds on horace s theme of poetry outlasting physical monuments to the dead.
Non omnis moriar.
Not marble nor the gilded monuments.
Than unswept stone besmeared with sluttish time.
Exegi monumentum aere perennius regalique situ pyramidum altius.
It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break.
Instead it continues in the next line.
Than unswept stone besmear d with sluttish time.
Not marble nor the gilded monuments.
Shakespeare sonnet 55 analysis shakespeare says that no statues or decorated monuments nor the gilded monuments can outlast the powerful poem he is writing.
The wreck of time is a recurring theme in shakespeare s sonnets often it is addressed in terms of its inevitable effect on beauty and youth especially that of the fair lord but here its impact on statues and shrines is the emphasis.
Than unswept stone besmear d with sluttish time.
The poet in sonnet 55.