Jennifer Evans

Ms. Gardner
English 10, Period 2
17 Sep 2014
Sonnet 25: Analysis
In Sonnet 25, immortal love triumphs over the fatal need for pride: through verse, the poet
emerges victorious against this deadly vanity. In the opening quatrain, William Shakespeare employs the
power of assonance in the line Of public honour and proud titles boast (25.2). The short vowel sounds
mirror the short lived power of aristocrats. In the second quatrain, Shakespeares simile The marigold at
the suns eye (25.6) parallels the sun to an upper class individuals and the marigold to the pride that they
constantly consume. It also reveals how insignificant their pride actually is; a marigold is virtually
nothing when its size is compared to the sun. In the final quatrain, an allusion to a successful warrior who
loses in battle further contributes to the assertion that pride is vulnerable. This warrior, who is famous for
his fighting ability, After a thousand victories once foild,/ Is from the book of honour razed quite
(25.10-11). In essence, it only took one loss, one mistake, to demote a valiant hero into a man whose
achievements were erased from the books and minds of those whom he had once been equal to. The final
couplet contains repetitive diction. The phrases love and am beloved and remove nor be removed
(25.14-15) echo the authors understanding that the requited affection between himself and his companion
supersedes his affliction for glory. Ultimately, it is because of this that their love, unlike the pride of other,
more elite, citizens, will never die out, therefore becoming everlasting and indestructible.