Critical Analysis Of William Shakespeare's 'Fair Youth'

Throughout William Shakespeare’s first 126 sonnets, the poet tends to express his love for a young man addressed “Fair Youth” (Fort). In particular, sonnet 55 conveys immortalization and time for the subject. Shakespeare communicates these ideas through deliberate word choice coupled with meticulous imagery and wordplay. While integrating this style and a contrasting theme into the sonnet, the poet effectively suggests his purpose to immortalize the subject’s memory so that he may live on forever, while everything else perishes. The poet begins the sonnet depicting extreme wealth and power. The words marble and gilded in the first line portray a prosperous, robust setting. He associates the latter with monuments of princes. His decision to use monuments as opposed to sculptures highlights the idea that these dead princes desired to be commemorated for the ages. Interestingly, he uses the plural form when writing princes in line

He doesn’t offer much of an introduction by employing the second person “you”. In context, however, it’s apparent the addressee must be the “Fair Youth” because of the enduring upcoming ideas of bestowing immortality on the subject, the same subject the poet’s expressed strong love for (Fort). For instance, the poet explains in line three that in these contents, or the sonnet, that he will shine bright. Specifically, more bright than an unswept stone that has aged poorly over time. An unswept stone in line four likely refers to memorials and tombs. Describing these memorials as besmeared with sluttish time depicts an especially deteriorated and dust-covered tomb. Shakespeare personifies time as sluttish, probably referring to time as having rotting and unattractive characteristics as opposed to a sexual meaning of sluttish. Again, like line one and two, lines three and four’s contradictions and personifications indicate the subject as superior to physical commemoratives and