Analysis of Not marble nor the guilded monuments (Sonnet 55)

William Shakespeare 1564 (Stratford-upon-Avon) – 1616 (Stratford-upon-Avon)



Not marble nor the gilded monuments
Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme;
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept 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 burn
The living record of your memory.
'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.
So, till the judgment that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.


Scheme ABCBDEDEEFEFGG
Poetic Form
Metre 1101010100 1101111001 1111110110 1111111 11011110 0111011100 11111111011 0100111100 11010100100 1111111111 10001110100 1111110101 1101010101 1101010101
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 607
Words 108
Sentences 5
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 14
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 35
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 489
Words per stanza (avg) 106
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 27, 2023

33 sec read
82

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon". more…

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