Sonnet 65 by William Shakespeare - Central idea & Summary

Sonnet No: 65

William Shakespeare

👉 Sonnet 65: Since brass, nor stone, nor earth, nor boundless sea

This Sonnet 65 shows obvious links with Sonnet 63 and Sonnet 64 in both theme and language. The theme relates to the destructive nature of time. Poetry will immortalize the beauty of the friend.

👉 Sonnet 65: Central idea

Since Time destroys everything – such strong and seemingly stable things like brass, stone, earth and sea- then it will also destroy human beauty that is as frail as a flower. This thought terrifies the poet (lover). There is, however, the hope that the poet's verse can perform the miracle of immortalizing the beauty of the friend.

👉 Sonnet 65: Summary

Such strong and apparently indestructible things like brass, stone, earth and boundless sea are subject to decay and extinction. They are prevailed over by sorrowful ruin or dissolution. So how against this determined an irresistible power of time, beauty, which is as frail as a flower, can have any hope of performance.

How can the sweet breath of life’s summer (the youth of the friend) can plead its case for performance when more resistant things like rocks and gates of steel erodes and decay ultimately.

The poet is frightened at the thought of his friend’s decay and death. The poet is sad to think that the beauty of his friend, which is Time's best jewel be hidden in safety from being cast into Time's chest, that is, Time's coffin where it will be lost in oblivion.

The poet cannot understand what strong hand (hand-writing anticipating poetry) can withhold the swift passage of time and arrest the decay of his friend's beauty. Who can withhold the ravages of time to spoil the beauty of his friends?

None but the poet’s pen can perform the miracle of immortalizing the beauty of the friend. Black ink of the poet’s verse can make the beauty of the lover shine in opposition to the conventional idea that a ‘black’ and ‘beauty’ were antithetical.

👉 Sonnet 65: Short Objective Questions and Answer

1. What hard and strong objects does Shakespeare refer to in Sonnet 65?

Answer: Shakespeare refers to brass, stone, rocks and gates of steel as hard and strong objects.

2. How is it that earth and boundless ocean are mentioned by the poet to indicate the destructibility of things?

Answer: Earth and boundless ocean are seemingly indestructible, but they are also mutable- some geological havoc may cause their decay and obliteration.

3. What is meant by ‘sad mortality’?

Answer: Mortality of earthly things is sad. Sad implies that mortality is firmly established in purpose.

4. What is meant by ‘rage’?

Answer: ‘Rage' means attack, resistless power.

5. What images is implied in the expression ‘hold a plea’.

Answer: ‘Hold a plea’ contains a legal image- plead for a cause.

6. What is implied in the word, ‘action’?

Answer: ‘Action’ means operation or legal suit. It is connected with ‘plea'.

7. What does the poet mean by ‘summer’s honey breath’?

Answer: ‘Summer's honey breath' means the sweet warm winds of summertime or the sweet perfume of the summer flower.

8. “Wreckful siege of battering days”- What are suggested by the words ‘siege’ and ‘battering days’?

Answer: By the word ‘battering days’, the poet suggest that Time makes ruinous attack on things with crashing blows. ‘Siege' implies besieging.

9. Why are rocks called ‘impregnable’?

Answer: Rocks are called ‘impregnable’ because they are so hard and strong that it is difficult to break them or to penetrate through them.

10. Does the expression ‘gates of steel’ convey any additional meaning?

Answer: ‘Gates of steel’ convey the meaning of a citadel.

11. “Time’s best jewel" - What is times best jewel?

Answer: “Time’s best jewel" is the beauty. It is generated in time.

12. “Time’s chest”- What is meant by “time’s chest”?

Answer: ‘Chest' means box or coffer. Here the poet means ‘coffin' which seals up beauty.

13. What strong hand can hold his swift foot back? - How does the poet oppose the hand and foot in the line?

Answer: ‘Hand’, here anticipates the hand-writings (verse) on the golden pages of his Sonnet 65 and ‘foot' means the swift movement of Time. The poet, here, affirms that the realms of his poetry will hold back the movement of Time.

14. “Spoil of beauty” - Give the two meanings of ‘spoil’ in the line.

Answer: Through this line from Sonnet 65, Shakespeare indicates the double meaning of the word, ‘Spoil’. First of all he signifies ‘the damage wrought of Time’ and the same word, secondly, signifies ‘the plundering by Time’.

15. “Black ink my love may still shine bright” - What is the contrast made here? What is the meaning of ‘still’?

Answer: Here the poet, William Shakespeare draws a contrast between black and bright. Since ‘ink’ is black, the poet affirms that the lines of his writings with black ink will make the beauty permanent. In this reference the word, ‘still’ means ‘always’.

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👉 Sonnet No. 116 (William Shakespeare) | definition of 'Love'

👉 ‘The Spanish Tragedy’ by Thomas Kyd | as a revenge play

👉 The Faerie Queene | the portrayal of Good vs. Evil

👉 The Flea by John Donne | as a metaphysical poem