William Shakespeare wrote "Sonnet 71" in the 1590s as part of his "Fair Youth" sonnet sequence, which details the speaker's romantic relationship with an anonymous lover (assumed to be a young man). On its own, "Sonnet 71" functions as a love poem in which the speaker urges the lover not to spend too much time in mourning after the speaker dies. Some readers believe that this selfless sentiment isn't genuine and that the speaker actually wants the lover to never move on from their relationship! However, this interpretation largely draws upon elements from other sonnets in the "Fair Youth" sequence, making the argument difficult to defend when analyzing "Sonnet 71" on its own.
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The Full Text of “Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead”
1No longer mourn for me when I am dead
2Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell
3Give warning to the world that I am fled
4From this vile world with vilest worms to dwell:
5Nay, if you read this line, remember not
6The hand that writ it; for I love you so,
7That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot,
8If thinking on me then should make you woe.
9O, if (I say) you look upon this verse,
10When I (perhaps) compounded am with clay,
11Do not so much as my poor name rehearse,
12But let your love even with my life decay,
13Lest the wise world should look into your moan,
14And mock you with me after I am gone.
The Full Text of “Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead”
1No longer mourn for me when I am dead
2Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell
3Give warning to the world that I am fled
4From this vile world with vilest worms to dwell:
5Nay, if you read this line, remember not
6The hand that writ it; for I love you so,
7That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot,
8If thinking on me then should make you woe.
9O, if (I say) you look upon this verse,
10When I (perhaps) compounded am with clay,
11Do not so much as my poor name rehearse,
12But let your love even with my life decay,
13Lest the wise world should look into your moan,
14And mock you with me after I am gone.
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“Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead” Summary
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“Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead” Themes
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Love, Mourning, and Moving On
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The Inevitability of Death and Decay
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead”
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Lines 1-3
No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell
Give warning to the world that I am fled -
Line 4
From this vile world with vilest worms to dwell;
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Lines 5-6
Nay, if you read this line, remember not
The hand that writ it; -
Lines 6-8
for I love you so,
That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot,
If thinking on me then should make you woe. -
Lines 9-10
O, if (I say) you look upon this verse,
When I (perhaps) compounded am with clay, -
Lines 11-12
Do not so much as my poor name rehearse,
But let your love even with my life decay, -
Lines 13-14
Lest the wise world should look into your moan,
And mock you with me after I am gone.
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“Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Apostrophe
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Consonance
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End-Stopped Line
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Repetition
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Caesura
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Personification
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Irony
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“Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead” 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.
- Mourn
- Surly
- Sullen
- Vile
- Dwell
- Nay
- Writ
- Woe
- Verse
- Compounded
- Clay
- Rehearse
- Lest
- Moan
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead” Speaker
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“Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead”
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More “Sonnet 71: No longer mourn for me when I am dead” Resources
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External Resources
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1609 Facsimile — If you're curious about what it would have been like to read Shakespeare when he was still alive, take a look at this copy of "Sonnet 71," shown exactly as it was when it was published in a 1609.
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A Dramatic Reading — Listen to a dramatic reading of "Sonnet 71" by the actor David Tennant.
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Shakescleare Translations — Explore all of Shakespeare's sonnets (including "Sonnet 71") in our understandable, modern translations.
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The Bard's Life — Learn more about Shakespeare's life and work in this concise yet comprehensive biographical overview.
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The Sonnets — The British Library put together this brief but helpful explanation of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets and the way they relate to one another.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Shakespeare
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