Sonnet 55

“Sonnet 55” presents several forms of memorialization. The poem opens with the image of marble and gilded monuments, immediately comparing these to the poem. But Shakespeare also uses the image of a gravestone, calling it an “unswept” (Line 4) stone. Next, Shakespeare uses the image of statues and the brickwork of a mason. Finally, Shakespeare returns to the way the poem memorializes the subject, saying, “’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity / Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room” (Lines 9-10).

The focus on memorialization matches the poem’s focus on life and living. Though the poem is concerned with death and uses the image of time to show how death comes to us all, Shakespeare shows how memorialization is one method to subvert death. By memorializing people, we extend their life beyond the years they actually live. For Shakespeare, this is an important task he must fill as a poet and admirer of the fair youth. Memorialization is a form of legacy, and the poem is the best way Shakespeare knows to create that legacy.

It’s also interesting to note how Shakespeare contrasts the memorialization of great figures from history versus how he memorializes the anonymous fair youth.