SONNET 55 - PARAPHRASE
Not marble, nor the gold-plated shrines
Of princes shall outlive the power of poetry;
You shall shine more bright in these verses
Than on dust-covered gravestones, ravaged by time.
When devastating war shall overturn statues,
And conflicts destroy the mason's handiwork,
the cause of war (Mars) nor the effects of war (fire) shall destroy
The living record of your memory (this poem).
Against death and destruction, which render people forgotten,
Shall you push onward; praise of you will always find a place,
Even in the eyes of future generations
That survive until the end of humanity.
So, until judgement day, when you yourself will rise again
You live in this poetry, and people will continue to love you.
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