Sonnet 55

Not marble, nor the guilded monument,

Of Princes shall out-live this powrefull rime,

But you shall shine more bright in these contents

Then unswept stone, besmeer'd with sluttish time,

When wastefull warre shall Statues over-turne,

And broiles roote out the worke of masonry,

Nor Mars his sword, nor warres quick fire shall burne

The living record of your memory.

Gainst death, and all oblivious emnity

Shall you pace forth, your praise shall still finde roome,

Even in the eyes of all posterity

That weare this world out to the ending doome.

So til the judgement that your selfe arise,

You live in this, and dwell in lovers eies.

Commentary

Changes to the original text: colon taken out at the end of line 7.

In the first quatrain, the poet points out to his beloved that neither statues nor other gilded monuments will out last his verse.

In the second quatrain, the poet goes on to claim that his verse is not subject to destruction by wars and upheavels, as are statues and buildings.

In the third quatrain, the poet observes that posterity will always have a record of him (the beloved), despite death and enmities.

In the final couplet, the poet claims that his beloved will live on in his (the poet's) verse until the resurrection.