Sonnet 55

Aung Oo
Ms. Peifer
English 10 Pre-IB
February 22 2009
Forever Love Sonnet 55
The main theme of this sonnet was how love is eternally beautiful. How love can never be destroyed or wear out over time. Love is something that is not materialized and lives forever or according to Shakespeare until the end of mankind is destroyed. Shakespeare also uses the literary devices like rhyme, mood. Shakespeare also talks about his idea of love itself. Time will never effect how love feels to Shakespeare.
In this sonnet the main theme itself was love. Shakespeare says love if eternally beautiful and can never be destroyed. Shakespeare introduces the sonnet by "Not marble, nor the gilded monuments Of Princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;".(Shakespeare 1-2). Basically Shakespeare saying that no marble or monuments can outlive this sonnet which is about love because his main theme is love materialized things won't last as long as this. "So, till the judgment that yourself arise, You live in this, and dwell in lover's eyes."(Shakespeare 13-14). In this line Shakespeare is saying that love if something only you can gain. No one can control who the person loves. Even until the end of time love lives in people who love each other and will stay like that until the end of time. This is also the last two lines of the sonnet which is supposed to wrap up the sonnet and Shakespeare purpose in ending this way was to inform people to keep loving because love is eternal.
Shakespeare uses many literary such as rhyme and mood to bring out the emotion of love and the rhyme makes the reader want to read more. Rhyme also makes Shakespeare's sonnets sounds a lot smoother and easy to read. The rhyme scheme is AB,AB,CD,CD,DF,GG, and his purpose for writing a rhyme scheme is because it's a sonnet. "So, till the judgment that yourself arise, You live in this, and dwell in lover's eyes."(Shakespeare 13-14). These were the last two lines it Shakespeare makes it rhyme because of it ending and the purpose was to stress certain lines and keep the reader thinking about his last words after reading the whole sonnet. Throughout the sonnet the mood was fairly happy giving hope to the reader saying that love is forever nothing can ever destroy. Even through end of time love will still live. Which brings back Shakespeare's main theme which was love is eternally beautiful.
Lastly Shakespeare talks about his idea of love. To Shakespeare his idea of love is that love is forever. Love can neither be destroyed or controlled like material objects that are made to stand forever, but in the end those materials end of falling. "Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory."(Shakespeare 7-8). Shakespeare is saying that Mars his sword which means Ares', who is the God of War, not even his sword could destroy the memory of love. Shakespeare could possibly be talking about someone he loves and saying that he will never forget her even if she is wiped off the face of the earth.
Overall the main theme of this whole sonnet was love. Shakespeare says that love is eternally beautiful. Even wars and destruction can bring an end to monuments but love is unaffected. Love cannot be controlled because it's a special feeling that only lovers share. Shakespeare's true idea of love is that love will exist until the end of time. Since there is no end to time love is everlasting.