At the heart of "Sonnet 75" is a dude who thinks that he can make his beloved live forever. How, you ask? Does he have an Elixir of Life? Has he found the Sorcerer's Stone? Not quite. This dude's got… wait for it… poetry. And he tells his gal that she'll live on forever through his work; he will "eternize" her "rare vertues" in his poems. And hey: we're still reading this sonnet hundreds of years after it was written, so in some ways, the beloved's immortality has been achieved. But unless we're in for a huge, time-bending, death-defying surprise, she's not actually living. She lives on through her memory.
Questions About Immortality
- Does the poem define immortality as actually living forever? Or does the poem have a more metaphorical view of immortality?
- Do the speaker's claims seem arrogant to you? Can he really promise anyone immortality?
- Does the speaker seek immorality for himself, as well as for his beloved? How do you know?
- Do you think that the poem is a success as far as its striving for immortality? Why or why not?
Chew on This
The speaker knows that his beloved will die and that he can't really make her live forever. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, people.
The speaker really and truly believes that immortality can be achieved through great works of art. If you build it, immortality will come.