QUICK SUMMARY
Shakespeare urges the young man not to grieve after his death, arguing that mourning will only prolong pain and give the world a reason to mock their relationship. The poem blends love, self-effacement, and a desire to shield the beloved from sorrow.
Full Poem: Sonnet 71 by William Shakespeare
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
From this vile world, with vilest worms to dwell:
Nay, if you read this line, remember not
The hand that writ it; for I love you so
That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot
If thinking on me then should make you woe.
O! if, I say, you look upon this verse
When I, perhaps, compounded am with clay,
Do not so much as my poor name rehearse,
But let your love even with my life decay;
Lest the wise world should look into your moan
And mock you with me after I am gone.
Analysis
Sonnet 71 marks a striking shift from earlier poems celebrating beauty, time, and poetic immortality. Here, Shakespeare adopts a tone of self-effacing tenderness, urging the young man not to mourn him after death.
Unlike the earlier sonnets where poetry defies time, this poem seems to accept mortality and even asks the beloved to let both the poet and his memory fade. What emerges is a complex mix of love, insecurity, longing, and emotional self-protection.
The Bell That Announces Death
The sonnet opens with a stark, almost abrupt directive:
“No longer mourn for me when I am dead.”
This line sets the emotional tone. Shakespeare is not simply contemplating death; he is addressing the beloved from beyond the grave, imagining how his death should be received. The “surly sullen bell” refers to the church bell rung upon death, a familiar sound in Renaissance England. It is both public and impersonal — a reminder that death is part of the world’s routine.
The bell “warns” the world that the poet has “fled,” as if escaping a corrupt place. Shakespeare calls it “this vile world,” intensifying the sense of separation. His final dwelling, with “vilest worms,” is described bluntly, stripping death of romance and confronting its physical reality. This humility reinforces the poet’s request: do not cling to me when I am gone. Let death be an end, not a lasting wound.
Love That Chooses Forgetting
The second quatrain deepens the emotional paradox:
“Nay, if you read this line, remember not / The hand that writ it…”
Shakespeare asks the youth not only to stop mourning but to forget the poet entirely if remembering him will cause pain. This is a profound inversion of the usual sonnet tradition, where poets beg to be remembered. Shakespeare instead expresses a love so selfless that he prefers oblivion over causing sorrow.
“I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot / If thinking on me then should make you woe.”
This request reveals an emotional vulnerability often overshadowed by Shakespeare’s rhetorical brilliance. The poet imagines a future in which the youth looks at his writing and feels grief, and he rejects this outcome. His love prioritizes the youth’s peace of mind over his own desire for remembrance.
The Poet’s Fate: “Compounded With Clay”
The third quatrain paints a grim but realistic image of death:
“When I, perhaps, compounded am with clay…”
In Renaissance thought, humans were literally formed from earth; returning to “clay” signifies physical dissolution. Shakespeare imagines himself blended back into the soil, no trace of individuality remaining. Once again, he asks the youth not to speak his name, as if any act of remembrance would burden the beloved.
“But let your love even with my life decay.”
This line is heartbreaking because it contradicts one of the sonnet tradition’s central aims: immortalizing love. Yet Shakespeare asks that love die when he does. The sentiment may arise from fear that the youth will suffer more by remembering him, or from the poet’s insecurity about being worthy of lasting affection. The request reflects a mixture of devotion and self-doubt.
Fear of the World’s Judgment
The final couplet reveals a hidden source of the poet’s anxiety:
“Lest the wise world should look into your moan
And mock you with me after I am gone.”
For the first time in the poem, Shakespeare acknowledges an external threat: the judgment of society. The “wise world” implies people who consider themselves discerning — the kind who scrutinize grief and assign meaning to it. Shakespeare fears that if the youth mourns him too openly, the world will mock both the mourner and the one mourned.
The couplet suggests:
- The relationship between poet and youth may be socially precarious.
- Shakespeare worries that grief might expose something others would ridicule.
- His request to be forgotten is partly protective — he shields the youth from public scorn.
This makes the sonnet not merely a meditation on death but also a portrait of a relationship defined by vulnerability and secrecy.
Sonnet 71 Within the Larger Sequence
Sonnet 71 begins a cluster of four “mourning sonnets” (71–74) in which Shakespeare imagines his own death and the youth’s reaction to it. These poems contrast with earlier sonnets that promise poetic immortality. Instead of urging the youth to remember, these sonnets urge him to forget.
This tonal shift reflects:
- A deeper emotional attachment
- A fear of causing pain
- A sense of unworthiness
- A desire to protect the youth even after death
These sonnets explore love through the lens of loss, testing its strength in imagined absence.
Themes of Mortality, Love, and Self-Effacement
Several themes define Sonnet 71:
- Selfless Love: The poet willingly sacrifices remembrance to spare the young man sorrow.
- Mortality and Decay: Images of worms, clay, and death bells confront the physical reality of dying.
- Fear of Public Judgment: The “wise world” becomes a threatening force capable of mocking genuine grief.
- The Fragility of Legacy: Earlier sonnets cling to immortality through verse; this one lets memory fade.
- The Inner Conflict of the Poet: Shakespeare’s desire to be remembered conflicts with his desire to protect the beloved.
Why Sonnet 71 Resonates Today
Modern readers are drawn to Sonnet 71 because it expresses a love shaped by humility and fear of causing harm. Shakespeare’s willingness to erase himself for the beloved’s peace speaks to a universal emotional truth: love sometimes requires letting go, even of one’s deepest longings.
The poem also resonates because of its honesty about death and public scrutiny. In an age where mourning is often public and shared, Shakespeare reminds us of the vulnerability such exposure brings.
Above all, Sonnet 71 remains powerful because it exposes the poet’s heart with unusual clarity. It is less about artifice and more about fear, tenderness, and the heartbreaking desire to spare someone pain.
