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Poem Analysis

Part 1
The poem, Not marble nor the gilded monuments by William Shakespeare, has 14 lines
and is, therefore, a sonnet. It is not divided into stanzas. The poem has a regular rhyme. The
rhyme pattern is ABABCDCDEFEFGG. The lines are almost the same length. The ideas are not
fully expressed in each line. The poet continues in the next line. For example, (1) Not marble nor
the gilded monuments, (2) Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme. The idea in line one is
continued in line two. The last two lines are indented, but all the other lines in the poem are not.
The poem has assonance. For example, the sound /o/ has been repeated in the lines, “Not
marble nor the gilded monuments “and “Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn.” The
poet also uses enjambment in the first two lines. Alliteration is evident in the poem. The sound
/s/ has been repeated in line, “Than unswept stone besmeared with sluttish time.” Further,
personification in lines one and two when the speaker says that “not even marbles and gilded
monuments shall outlive this powerful rhyme,” here, he gives marbles characteristics of living
things. Personification is also evident in line 5, where the poet refers to war as wasteful.
The poem also uses repetition. The words “nor” are repeated three times in the poem. The
poet also uses hyperbole. He exalts his writing skills, and the power of the poem is so strong that
it can overcome death and any enmity. The words are more powerful than kings. Kings die, but
the words of the poem will remain. Inversion is evident in lines 5 and 13. In lines 3 and 4, the
poet uses a metaphor. He compares the shining of the sonnet to that of unswept besmeared stone.
Further, the use of feet is evident in line 7, as the poet stresses the highlighted syllables, “Nor
Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn.”

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Part 2
The poet William Shakespeare is the speaker. He is praising his poem writing skills. He
says, “Of Princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme.” He is confident that the sonnet will live
long and not even marble shall outlive them. Shakespeare writes to the general audience.
However, one of the characters in the poem is his friend. He is confident that the words he writes
about the friend will push against “death and all-oblivious enmity.” The poem comprises words
of praise. The poet writes with fondness, and it is evident that he is referring to a person whose
memories he holds dearly.
It is not clear when the action in the poem takes place as the poet omits this information.
The speaker begins the poem by praising his creative skills. It is not possible to tell from the
poem where the action is taking place. The theme of the poem is that of life and death. In the
poem, the speaker mentions immortality and death. He states that the words of the sonnet will
live forever, and not even gilded monuments will outlive them. This is why he preserves his
friend’s memories in the sonnet because they will remain alive forever. He says that the words
are a” living record of your memory.”
The poet proudly states that although everything seems to have an expiration date, and
even kings die, his words are immortal. Overall, the speaker could be compelled to speak now
because he feels overwhelmed by his friend’s memories. It is also possible that he fears that he
could die and thus wants to have something that would outlive him. The words of the sonnet will
live forever even if he dies.