“On Shakespeare. 1630” Summary

“On Shakespeare. 1630” Themes

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  Art, Transformation, and Immortallity

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• 

  The Particular Genius of Shakespeare

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “On Shakespeare. 1630”

• Lines 1-4

  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?

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  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.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  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,

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  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.

  

  

  

  

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“On Shakespeare. 1630” Symbols

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  The Pyramid

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“On Shakespeare. 1630” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Rhetorical Question

  

  

  

  

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“On Shakespeare. 1630” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Labor of an age
• Pilèd
• Hallowed relics
• Star-ypointing pyramid
• Heir
• What needs thou
• Weak witness
• Thy
• Hast
• Thyself
• Live-long
• Slow-endeavouring art
• Easy numbers
• Hath
• Leaves of thy unvalued book
• Delphic
• Lines
• Fancy
• Dost
• Marble
• Conceiving
• Sepúlchred
• Pomp

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “On Shakespeare. 1630”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“On Shakespeare. 1630” Speaker

“On Shakespeare. 1630” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “On Shakespeare. 1630”

More “On Shakespeare. 1630” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Second Folio — Check out scans of Shakepeare's Second Folio to see how Milton's poem originally appeared. 

  • Shakespeare's Influence on Milton — Read an interesting article about a recent discovery: Milton's own annotated copy of the Second Folio. 

  • The Shakespeare vs. Milton Debate — Watch an interesting discussion comparing Milton with his literary hero. 

  • Milton's Biography — Dive into more of Milton's poetry and learn about his life story via the Poetry Foundation. 

• LitCharts on Other Poems by John Milton

  • Lycidas

  • Sonnet 19: When I consider how my light is spent (On his blindness)

  • Sonnet 7: How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth