"On Shakespeare" By John Milton, 1630
What needs my Shakespeare for his honour'd Bones, The labour of an age in piled stones, Or that his hallow'd reliques should be hid Under a Star-ypointing Pyramid? Dear son of memory, great heir of Fame, What need'st thou such weak witnes of thy name? Thou in our wonder and astonishment Hast built thy self a live-long Monument. For whilst to th' shame of slow-endeavouring art, Thy easie numbers flow, and that each heart Hath from the leaves of thy unvalu'd Book, Those Delphick lines with deep impression took, Then thou our fancy of it self bereaving, Dost make us Marble with too much conceaving; And so Sepulcher'd in such pomp dost lie, That Kings for such a Tomb would wish to die.
This poem was originally published anonymously in the second folio of Shakespeare's plays.There was much discussion at the time, about whether Shakespeare's remains should have been buried at Stratford-upon-Avon inside the Stratford parish church.
William Shakespeare was born on April 23rd 1546, and died April 23rd 1616. He was an English playwright and poet who is considered by many to be 'the greatest dramatist the world has ever known and the finest poet who has written in the English language.'
A cairn (a heap of piled stone) is often built as a memorial to someone's death and in some cases is the actual grave site of the deceased person. Milton, however, is probably referring ,in this line, to the most elaborate cairns in the world, the pyramids of ancient Egypt. These Pyramids took, "The labor of an age," or in other words, many lifetimes and the hard work of thousands of people to build.
Objects esteemed and venerated because of their association with a saint or martyr, and possibly the remains or corpse of the saint or martyr. martyr- One who sacrifices his life or something of great value for the sake of principle, also a great constant sufferer.
Shakespeare is described as the son of Mnemosyne (who's name means memory). This would make him a brother to the muses (who are daughters of Mnemosyne) who were fathered by Zeus. Zeus was one of the more famous Olympian gods.
This is a retorical question. Milton believes that no matter how great a pyramid built in Shakespeare's name, it would not have the value that Shakespeare's poetry possesses.
To endeavor is to work with set purpose. Milton is probably referring to his own struggle as an aspiring poet when he refers to poetry as a "slow-endevouring art", meaning that for him writing poetry is a task that takes time, dedication and patience. He contrasts his difficulty with writing poetry with Shakespeare's "easie [easy] numbers," or apparent ease with writing poetry. The word "numbers" is most likely referring to Shakespeare use of iambic pentameter in his writing. In summation Milton is trying to say that it is almost shameful that Shakespeare could write poetry with such ease, when for most people writing poetry is a taxing challenge.
The phrase "our wonder and astonishment"expresses Milton's admiration of the body of work that Shakespeare created during his life. Milton implies that Shakespeare's work is a monument created by his own hand that will survive for a long time.
Each person who reads the pages ("leaves") of Shakespear's priceless ("unvalued") book is deeply influenced by his "delphic lines." "Delphic" means ambiguous or obscure, but may also be referring to ancient Delphi and/or its false oracle.
Milton is saying that we must be careful to not rob ourselves
of the power of conception and representation in Shakespeare's
poetry. Perhaps Milton is warning us not to analyse
Shakespeare's poetry, "it", too much. Bereave is derived from
the French words "be" + "refian" which means to rob.
As each person reads and rereads Shakespeare's poetry, they may concieve many different but equally valid interpretations. With so many different ideas it is difficult to decide on the right interpretation. Milton is saying that we are standing still in thought, like "Marble" statues due to our indecision. Thus, Shakespeare's readers become marble monuments to him.
"Sepulcher'd" means buried in a tomb.
Milton believed that no matter where Shakespeare was buried,
his poetry was a greater monument than any "Tomb" or
"Pyramid" that man could construct. "Kings" could have
majestic tombs, but would be envious of the fame that
Shakespeare created for himself.
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