Sonnet 25

Shakespeare. Sonnet 1

«Let those who are in favour with their stars
Of public honour and proud titles boast».
 

In Sonnet 25, which has as its theme mortality versus immortality, the poet contrasts himself with those “who are in favor with their stars,” implying that, though he is not numbered among those famous, fortunate people, their fame will not last, while his love will. Therefore, he is happy in his love.

Sonnet 25
Read and listen

Let those who are in favour with their stars
Of public honour and proud titles boast,
Whilst I, whom fortune of such triumph bars,
Unlook’d for joy in that I honour most.
Great princes’ favourites their fair leaves spread
But as the marigold at the sun’s eye,
And in themselves their pride lies buried,
For at a frown they in their glory die.
The painful warrior famoused for fight,
After a thousand victories once foil’d,
Is from the book of honour razed quite,
And all the rest forgot for which he toil’d:
Then happy I, that love and am beloved
Where I may not remove nor be removed.

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Most important, the poet is comforted in the knowledge that his love for the young man grants him permanence: “Then happy I, that love and am beloved / Where I may not remove nor be removed.” Requited love between him and the youth replaces his need for fame.

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Credits

English audio from YouTube Channel Socratica

Summary from Cliffsnotes.com

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