William Shakespeare Sonnets

Explicating Poetry: 5 Steps1- Examine the situation in the poem2- Examine the structure in the poem3- Examine the language in the poem4- Examine the musical devices in the poem5- Write about your conclusions!

William Shakespearec. 1564-1616b. Stratford-upon-

Avon, EnglandWrote during

Renaissance time period

Time of metaphysical and carpe diem poetry

Shakespearean Sonnets1609 Quarto only source of most

152 Shakespearean Sonnets.

There are 3 categories of poems in this Quarto:1-126 are addressed to The Fair Youth

127-152 are addressed to The Dark Mistress

A Lover’s Complaint a 329 line poem written in Rhyme Royal (a-b-a-b-b-c-c)

Shakespeare’s AddresseesThe Fair Youth (sonnets 1-126)

An unnamed young man Written to in loving and romantic language Some suggest this may be a homosexual

love, others find support that it is platonic, or father-son love

The Dark Lady (sonnets 127-152) Given this name because of she is

described as being dark haired The sonnets written about her express

infatuation and are more sexual in nature

Shakespearean Sonnet FormStill 14 linesBroken into 4 parts

3 quatrains- 4 line stanza 1 rhyming couplet- 2 line stanza

Written in iambic pentameter:

˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ /

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Shakespearean Sonnet FormRhyme Scheme:

Quatrain 1: a b a b [introduces question] Quatrain 2: c d c d [tentative Quatrain 3: e f e f answers] Rhyming Couplet: g g [final answer]

Volta:The turn or transition in line 9 which marks a shift

in focus or thought

SONNET 55Not marble nor the gilded monumentsOf princes shall outlive this pow'rful rhyme,But you shall shine more bright in these conténtsThan unswept stone, besmeared 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. 

Paraphrase

Not marble, nor the gilded monuments

Not marble, nor the gold-plated shrines

Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;

Of princes shall outlive the power of poetry;

But you shall shine more bright in these contents

You shall shine more bright in these verses

Than unswept stone besmear'd with sluttish time.

Than on dust-covered gravestones, ravaged by time.

When wasteful war shall statues overturn,

When devastating war shall overturn statues,

And broils root out the work of masonry,

And conflicts destroy the mason's handiwork,

Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn

the cause of war (Mars) nor the effects of war (fire) shall destroy

The living record of your memory. The living record of your memory (this poem).

'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Against death and destruction, which render people forgotten,

Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room

Shall you push onward; praise of you will always find a place,

Even in the eyes of all posterity Even in the eyes of future generations

That wear this world out to the ending doom.

That survive until the end of humanity.

So, till the judgment that yourself arise,

So, until you arise on Judgment Day,

You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.

You are immortalized in this poetry, and continue to live in lovers' eyes.

Summary & ThemeTheme of immortalitySonnet 55, one of Shakespeare's most famous

verses, asserts the immortality of the poet's sonnets to withstand the forces of decay over time. The sonnet continues this theme from the previous sonnet, in which the poet likened himself to a distiller of truth.

meaning that the young man will be remembered longer because of the poet's having written about him than if descriptions of his beauty had been chiseled in stone.

SummaryThe syntax of line 13 — "So, till the judgment

that yourself arise" — is confusing; restated, the line says, "Until the Judgment Day when you arise." The poet assures the youth that his beauty will remain immortal as long as one single person still lives to read these sonnets, which themselves will be immortal.

Why is he saying it?Sonnet 55 builds on Horace's theme of poetry

outlasting physical monuments to the dead. 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 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.

http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/55detail.html

http://www.gradesaver.com/shakespeares-sonnets/study-guide/section34/

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/shakespeare-sonnets/summary-analysis/sonnet-55.html