William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 71 stands as a profound meditation on love, death, and the passage of time. Like many of Shakespeare’s sonnets, it explores complex emotions and paradoxical ideas, weaving through a powerful yet melancholic sentiment. In this essay, we will first discuss the poem’s overall structure and tone, before conducting a detailed analysis of each quatrain with a focus on the ideas expressed in every set of lines.
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 71
No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell
Give warning to the world that I am fled
4From this vile world with vilest worms to dwell.
Nay, if you read this line, remember not
The hand that writ it, for I love you so
That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot,
8If thinking on me then should make you woe.
O, if, I say, you look upon this verse
When I, perhaps, compounded am with clay,
Do not so much as my poor name rehearse,
12But let your love even with my life decay,
Lest the wise world should look into your moan
And mock you with me after I am gone.
The Structure and Tone of Sonnet 71
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 71 is written in the traditional English (or Shakespearean) sonnet form, which consists of 14 lines, divided into three quatrains (four-line stanzas) and a final couplet (a two-line stanza). The meter used is iambic pentameter, a rhythmic structure consisting of ten syllables per line, with an alternating pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables. The rhyme scheme follows the typical Shakespearean pattern: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
The tone of the poem is somber and self-sacrificial, infused with a sense of foreboding resignation. Shakespeare uses an elegiac tone, as he expresses the inevitability of death and the fleeting nature of human existence. However, there is also an underlying element of love and selflessness in the speaker’s plea for the beloved to forget him after his death. The poem suggests that love should transcend grief and not be tainted by sorrow after the speaker’s departure.
Analysis of Sonnet 71
Lines 1–4
“No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell
Give warning to the world that I am fled
From this vile world with vilest worms to dwell.”
In these opening lines, Shakespeare begins by addressing his lover (or the reader, depending on interpretation), urging them not to mourn his passing once he is dead. The line, “No longer mourn for me when I am dead,” establishes the speaker’s wish that his memory not be associated with sorrow and grief.
The “surly sullen bell” refers to the sound of a funeral bell, which in Shakespeare’s time would ring to announce a person’s death. The bell is described as “surly” and “sullen,” emphasizing the gloomy, dreary atmosphere surrounding the moment of death. This reinforces the speaker’s desire to escape from a world he sees as “vile” and “with vilest worms to dwell.” These words underline the grim image of decomposition after death, signifying both physical decay and the degradation of earthly existence. Shakespeare’s use of harsh, unpleasant language paints death not as a noble or serene event, but as a return to the baseness of the earth, where worms consume the body.
Lines 5–8
Nay, if you read this line, remember not
The hand that writ it, for I love you so
That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot,
If thinking on me then should make you woe.”
Here, the speaker makes a deeper emotional appeal. He implores the reader (or lover) not to even remember him after his death if it brings them sorrow. Shakespeare frames this desire as an act of selfless love. The speaker is saying, in essence, that his love for the beloved is so pure and deep that he would rather be forgotten if thinking of him would cause pain. The phrase “I love you so” is crucial in that it implies an almost sacrificial love—one in which the speaker is willing to disappear from the beloved’s thoughts if it prevents future grief. This highlights a paradoxical aspect of love: a desire to both preserve and erase oneself in the beloved’s heart.
Lines 9–12
“O, if, I say, you look upon this verse
When I, perhaps, compounded am with clay,
Do not so much as my poor name rehearse,
But let your love even with my life decay,”
These lines deepen the theme of selflessness and transcendence. The phrase “compounded am with clay” refers to the speaker’s body turning to dust or earth, implying that after death, the speaker’s physical form will decompose and become one with the soil. Shakespeare uses the image of clay, a humble substance, to signify the speaker’s return to the basic elements of the earth, underscoring the transient nature of human existence.
The speaker then asks that the beloved refrain from uttering his name after his death, requesting that even the memory of him fade entirely. The line “let your love even with my life decay” is paradoxical because it suggests that the beloved should stop loving him altogether if it is tied to grief or loss. This is the poet‘s ultimate self-effacing gesture: he suggests that his love should not outlast his life and that the beloved’s happiness should not be tethered to him after death.
Lines 13–14
“Lest the wise world should look into your moan
And mock you with me after I am gone.”
In the closing couplet, the speaker anticipates the reaction of the outside world to the beloved’s grief. The “wise world” could refer to the judgment of society or the idea of rational, detached observers who view prolonged mourning as foolish or weak. The word “moan” suggests an audible, physical expression of sorrow, which could be perceived as weakness or excessive sentimentality. The final warning is a plea to avoid any form of public grief that might cause the world to “mock” the beloved, implying that such mourning would trivialize both the speaker’s death and the love that once existed between them. This final line serves as a poignant reminder of the speaker’s desire for dignity in death, even at the expense of love and memory.
Conclusion
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 71 presents a unique exploration of death, love, and memory. Through selfless appeals, the speaker asks the beloved to forget him after death in order to avoid the sorrow that would diminish the purity of their past affection. The tone is somber yet full of affection, and the structure of the poem reinforces its themes of time, decay, and loss. Through this intricate sonnet, Shakespeare masterfully portrays the complex emotions surrounding love and the inevitable decay of life, leaving us with a profound meditation on the impermanence of existence and the transcendent nature of love.
