Shakespeare’s Sonnet 55 To whom this sonnet is dedicated to? The poet compares his poem, Sonnet 55, to the royal princes’ tomb. Not marble, nor the gilded monuments Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;

Sonnet 55 Not marble, nor the gilded monuments Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme; But you shall shine more bright in these contents   Than unswept stone, besmear'd with sluttish time.  When wasteful war shall statues overturn,  And broils root out the work of masonry,  Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.  'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom. So, till the judgment that yourself arise,  You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.

First Stanza 1-4 Not marble, nor the gilded monuments  Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme; But you shall shine more bright in these contents  Than unswept stone, besmear'd with sluttish time.  What is the theme of the Sonnet 55? besmear'd: make filthy with sluttish time: i.e., by filthy time. In Elizabethan time the word "sluttish" could refer to a sexually promiscuous woman or a grubby, unkempt woman. Here Shakespeare personifies Time as the latter. 

Second Stanza 5-8 broils: angry, violent quarrels or riots. Mars : war Fire: effect your memory: this verse When wasteful war shall statues overturn,  And broils root out the work of masonry,  Nor Mars his sword nor war's quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory. 

Third Stanza 9-12 Posterity: future generations 'Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room Even in the eyes of all posterity  That wear this world out to the ending doom.

Couplet 13-14 Judgment: on Judgment Day This: poem Can you detect the tone of the narrator? So, till the judgment that yourself You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.

Sonnet 20 A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted  Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;  A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted  With shifting change, as is false women's fashion; An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling, Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;  A man in hue, all hues in his controlling, Much steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth. And for a woman wert thou first created;  Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting, And by addition me of thee defeated,  By adding one thing to my purpose nothing. But since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure, Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure. 

First Stanza 1-4 A woman's face with Nature's own hand painted (a natural beauty) Hast thou, the master-mistress (likely male-mistress) of my passion; A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted With shifting change, as is false (unfaithful) women's fashion; A naughty card based on Shakespeare’s Sonnet 20 image derived from the internet: http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/befcb9314d954d7d4ebb0dbaf86cba7cdd

Second Stanza 5-8 An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling (straying), Gilding (making the object seem golden) the object whereupon it gazeth; A man in hue (appearance; complexion; color), all 'hues' in his controlling, Much steals men's eyes and women's souls amazeth. Hue: appearance All hues: all looks The Fair Youth leads the beauty fashion.

Third Stanza 9-12 And for (as) a woman wert thou first created; Till Nature (goddess loves you, too), as she wrought thee, fell a-doting, And by addition me of thee defeated, By adding one thing (penis) to my purpose nothing. This stanza has an obvious sexual implication, which raises a question whether the Poet’s (Shakespeare) affection for the Fair Youth is homoerotic. By Addition/By adding one: penis

Couplet 13-14 But since she prick'd thee out for women's pleasure, Mine be thy love and thy love's use their treasure. Prick'd: picked? erected Shakespeares Sonette by Robert Wilson and Rufus Wainwright at the Berliner Ensemble (2009): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsTOXq01KQU&feature=related

Unit Tests After watching the Sonnet 20 in Shakespeares Sonette (2009), please answer the following question: What object in this film is not related to the metaphors in Sonnet 20? A) the Woman B) the syringe C) the feather http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsTOXq01KQU&feature=related