"Sonnet 55" is part of William Shakespeare's famous sequence of 154 sonnets, first published in 1609. This sonnet, like many in that book, is addressed to a handsome young man known only as the "Fair Youth," and claims to be a "living record" of him—a tribute that will outlive any statue. Stone, the poem claims, will be destroyed in war before too long. The poem, on the other hand, will keep the Fair Youth's memory alive until the Christian Judgment Day. And so far, this poem has proved its own claim: just as it predicts, it's still being read hundreds of years after it was written.
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The Full Text of “Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments”
1Not marble nor the gilded monuments
2Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme,
3But you shall shine more bright in these contents
4Than unswept stone besmeared with sluttish time.
5When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
6And broils root out the work of masonry,
7Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn
8The living record of your memory.
9’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity
10Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room
11Even in the eyes of all posterity
12That wear this world out to the ending doom.
13 So, till the Judgement that yourself arise,
14 You live in this, and dwell in lovers’ eyes.
The Full Text of “Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments”
1Not marble nor the gilded monuments
2Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme,
3But you shall shine more bright in these contents
4Than unswept stone besmeared with sluttish time.
5When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
6And broils root out the work of masonry,
7Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn
8The living record of your memory.
9’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity
10Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room
11Even in the eyes of all posterity
12That wear this world out to the ending doom.
13 So, till the Judgement that yourself arise,
14 You live in this, and dwell in lovers’ eyes.
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“Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments” Summary
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“Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments” Themes
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Poetry and Immortality
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments”
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Lines 1-2
Not marble nor the gilded monuments
Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme, -
Lines 3-4
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone besmeared with sluttish time. -
Lines 5-8
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. -
Lines 9-12
’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. -
Lines 13-14
So, till the Judgement that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers’ eyes.
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“Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments” Symbols
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Stone Monuments
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“Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Alliteration
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Allusion
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Assonance
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Caesura
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Consonance
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Enjambment
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Metaphor
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Personification
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“Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Marble
- Gilded
- Rhyme
- Contents
- Unswept
- Besmeared
- Sluttish
- Broils
- Masonry
- Mars
- 'Gainst
- All-oblivious
- Enmity
- Posterity
- Ending Doom
- Judgement
- Arise
- Dwell
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments” Speaker
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“Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments”
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More “Sonnet 55: Not marble nor the gilded monuments” Resources
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External Resources
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The Identity of the Fair Youth — Read about the debated identity of the sonnet's mysterious addressee.
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The First Edition of the Sonnets — See the sonnet in its original context: the 1609 Quarto edition.
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Shakespeare's Sonnets — Find all the sonnets, plus some analysis, in one useful place!
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The Sonnet Out Loud — Hear the poem read by the celebrated British actor Patrick Stewart.
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The Sonnet as a "Little Room" — Listen to a fascinating lecture by the late, great scholar Russ McDonald, which interprets the sonnets in their historical context.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Shakespeare
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