Sonnet 65 by William Shakespeare | Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless | Sonnet 65 | Willian Shakespeare | Explanation | Summary | Key Points | Word Meaning | Critical Appreciation | Questions Answers | Free PDF Download – Easy Literary Lessons
Sonnet 65
Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea
Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea
But sad mortality o’er-sways their power,
How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,
Whose action is no stronger than a flower?
O, how shall summer’s honey breath hold out
Against the wrackful siege of batt’ring days,
When rocks impregnable are not so stout,
Nor gates of steel so strong, but time decays?
O fearful meditation! where, alack,
Shall time’s best jewel from time’s chest lie hid?
Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?
Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?
O, none, unless this miracle have might,
That in black ink my love may still shine bright.
Sonnet 65 by William Shakespeare: YouTube Link
Sonnet 65 by William Shakespeare Analysis
Line 1: Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea
Explanation: The speaker begins by listing all the things that time can conquer: brass, stone, earth, and even the boundless sea. These are all symbols of strength and permanence, but they are all powerless against the relentless march of time.
Line 2: But sad mortality o’er-sways their power,
Explanation: The speaker continues to emphasize the power of time, calling it “sad mortality.” He says that time has the power to overcome even the most powerful things.
Line 3: How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea,
Explanation: The speaker now turns his attention to the fleeting nature of beauty. He asks how beauty can resist the “rage” of time.
Line 4: Whose action is no stronger than a flower?
Explanation: The speaker compares beauty to a flower, which is delicate and easily destroyed. He is suggesting that beauty is just as vulnerable to the ravages of time as a flower is.
Line 5: O, how shall summer’s honey breath hold out
Explanation: The speaker continues to lament the fleeting nature of beauty. He asks how the “honey breath” of summer, which is a symbol of beauty and vitality, can withstand the passage of time.
Line 6: Against the wrackful siege of batt’ring days,
Explanation: The speaker uses a metaphor to describe the destructive power of time. He calls time a “wrackful siege” and says that it is like a battering ram that is constantly attacking everything in its path.
Line 7: When rocks impregnable are not so stout,
Explanation: The speaker continues to emphasize the power of time by listing all the things that it can destroy. He says that even “rocks impregnable” are not strong enough to withstand time’s assault.
Line 8: Nor gates of steel so strong, but time decays?
Explanation: The speaker continues to list all the things that time can destroy. He says that even “gates of steel” are not strong enough to withstand time’s decay.
Line 9: O fearful meditation! where, alack,
Explanation: The speaker is now filled with despair at the realization that time is invincible. He calls his thoughts a “fearful meditation” and asks where time’s “best jewel” can be hidden from time’s “swift foot.”
Line 10: Shall time’s best jewel from time’s chest lie hid?
Explanation: The speaker continues to despair at the thought that even the most beautiful things will be destroyed by time. He calls time’s “best jewel” the young man’s beauty, and he asks where it can be hidden from time’s relentless destruction.
Line 11: Or what strong hand can hold his swift foot back?
Explanation: The speaker asks who can stop time from stealing beauty away. He personifies time as having a “swift foot,” and he asks who can hold it back.
Line 12: Or who his spoil of beauty can forbid?
Explanation: This line completes the speaker’s lament on the power of time to destroy beauty. He has already asked who can stop time from stealing beauty away, and now he asks who can prevent time from taking beauty away as its “spoil.” The use of the word “spoil” suggests that time is not just destroying beauty, but also taking it away from the speaker as if it were a trophy of war.
Line 13: O, none, unless this miracle have might,
Explanation: The speaker concludes the sonnet by offering a glimmer of hope. He suggests that the only way to preserve beauty is to immortalize it in poetry. He believes that his love for the young man can be preserved in “black ink,” and that his poem will shine brightly long after the young man’s beauty has faded.
Line 14: That in black ink my love may still shine bright.
Explanation: The speaker reiterates his belief that poetry can preserve beauty from time’s destruction. He says that his love for the young man will still “shine bright” in “black ink” long after the young man is gone.
