Sonnet 71 by William Shakespeare Summary

In William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 71, “No longer mourn for me when I am dead,” the speaker addresses their beloved, asking them not to grieve excessively after their death. They describe their final resting place as a “vile world” with “vilest worms,” emphasizing the unpleasantness of death.

The speaker’s primary concern lies in the beloved’s well-being. They express a selfless desire to be forgotten if remembering them would cause the beloved pain. They even ask the beloved to forget the hand that wrote the poem and to let their love for them decay alongside their life, fearing the world’s potential mockery of the beloved’s grief.

Through its evocative imagery and masterful use of poetic devices, the poem explores themes of love, death, memory, and selflessness. It stands as a testament to the enduring power of love and its ability to transcend the boundaries of life and death.

Key Points

Author: William Shakespeare is considered to be one of the most important English-language writers. His plays and poems are read all over the world.

Form: Sonnet 71 is a sonnet, a fourteen-line poem that is contained within one stanza. The form that has become synonymous with the poet’s name. The English or Shakespearean sonnet is made up of three quatrains, or sets of four lines, and one concluding couplet, or set of two rhyming lines.

Speaker: The speaker of the sonnet is a character who is contemplating their own mortality and the impact of their death on a loved one. This character could be a representation of Shakespeare himself, or a fictional persona.

Setting: The setting isn’t specified in the sonnet, but it’s clear that the speaker is contemplating death and its aftermath.

Theme: The poem’s central theme lies in the speaker’s profound love for the beloved and his concern for their well-being even after his death. Additionally, the poem explores the inevitability of death and the challenges of coping with loss.

Plot: The sonnet starts with the speaker asking their loved one not to mourn for them after they are dead. They ask their loved one to forget them, and not to remember the hand that wrote the lines of the sonnet. The speaker expresses a desire to be forgotten if their memory would cause their loved one sorrow. They ask their loved one not to mention their name after they are gone, and to let their love decay with their life.

Tone: The tone of the sonnet is somber and reflective, with the speaker contemplating death and its impact on a loved one.

Style: Shakespeare’s style in this sonnet, as in many of his works, is characterized by rich imagery, metaphor, and tightly woven logic. For example, he uses the metaphor of a bell giving warning to the world that the speaker has fled to dwell with the vilest worms.

Message: The message of the sonnet is that love is so powerful that it can lead one to prefer oblivion over causing a loved one sorrow. The poem suggests that true love transcends death, but it also acknowledges the pain of loss and the importance of letting go.

Structure and Rhyme Scheme

Structure

The structure of Sonnet 71 follows the typical structure of a Shakespearean sonnet. It is composed of three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a final couplet (two-line stanza). The quatrains often introduce a problem or question, while the couplet provides a resolution or answer.

Rhyme Scheme

The rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet is ABABCDCDEFEFGG. This means that the first and third lines of each quatrain rhyme with each other (A and C, D and F), as do the second and fourth lines (B and D, E and G). The final couplet (GG) also rhymes.

In the case of Sonnet 71, the rhyme scheme would look like this:

No longer mourn for me when I am dead (A)

Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell (B)

Give warning to the world that I am fled (A)

From this vile world with vilest worms to dwell; (B)

Nay, if you read this line, remember not ©

The hand that writ it; for I love you so, (D)

That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot, ©

If thinking on me then should make you woe. (D)

O, if (I say) you look upon this verse, (E)

When I (perhaps) compounded am with clay, (F)

Do not so much as my poor name rehearse, (E)

But let your love even with my life decay, (F)

Lest the wise world should look into your moan, (G)

And mock you with me after I am gone. (G)

This structure and rhyme scheme are characteristic of Shakespeare’s sonnets and are part of what gives them their musicality and emotional impact.

Word Meaning