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On Shakespeare By John Milton


John Milton & William Shakespeare

                                           

What needs my Shakespeare for his honoured bones,

The labor of an age in pilèd stones,

Or that his hallowed relics should be hid   

Under a star-ypointing pyramid?

Dear son of Memory, great heir of fame,

What need’st thou such weak witness of thy name?

Thou in our wonder and astonishment

Hast built thyself a live-long monument.

For whilst to th’ shame of slow-endeavouring art,   

Thy easy numbers flow, and that each heart   

Hath from the leaves of thy unvalued book

Those Delphic lines with deep impression took,   

Then thou, our fancy of itself bereaving,   

Dost make us marble with too much conceiving;

And so sepúlchred in such pomp dost lie,

That kings for such a tomb would wish to die.

John Milton’s "On Shakespeare" (1630) is a tribute to William Shakespeare's enduring legacy. Written in fourteen lines of iambic pentameter, Milton celebrates the immortal influence of Shakespeare’s genius. Milton argues that Shakespeare’s literary works are his true monument, as they inspire awe and wonder. Making a physical tomb like a "star-ypointing pyramid," or a stone tomb, to honour his memory is unnecessary. The “live-long monument” refers to the lasting impact of Shakespeare’s works, which will endure in the minds and hearts of readers forever. His writings, filled with wisdom and profound insights, leave a deep impression on readers, rendering them speechless with wonder.

The phrase “dear son of Memory” highlights Shakespeare’s profound influence on cultural memory and his ability to immortalize human experiences through his writing. The “Delphic lines” allude to the wisdom and prophetic nature of Shakespeare’s words, comparing them to the guidance of the ancient Oracle of Delphi. By “Dost make us marble with too much conceiving”

Milton suggests that Shakespeare’s ideas are so powerful and awe-inspiring that they leave readers emotionally stunned, like statues of marble. Milton concludes by suggesting that Shakespeare’s figurative tomb, built from the admiration of readers by the power of his art, is so magnificent that even kings would envy it.

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