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Shakespeare's Sonnets: Not marble, nor the gilded monuments

Sonnet 55
Shakespeare, William
1Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
2Of princes shall out-live this pow'rful rhyme,
3But you shall shine more bright in these contents
4Than unswept stone, besmear'd with sluttish time.
5When wasteful war shall statues over-turn
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,
11Ev'n in the eyes of all posterity
12That wear this world out to the ending doom.
13    So till the judgement that your self arise,
14    You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.

Notes

1] monuments] monument Q. A rhyme with "contents" and the plural implied by "princes" support the universal emendation. Back to Line
4] sluttish] dirty. Back to Line
5] wasteful] laying waste. Back to Line
7] Mars] Roman god of war. Back to Line
9] enmity] emnity Q. Back to Line
11] Ev'n] Euen Q. Back to Line
13] arise] resurrect ("your self" is the object of the verb, which is, unusually, transitive). Back to Line