Sonnet notes 16

Sonnet 55, line 14: “You live in this, and dwell in lovers’ eyes”

Sonnet 55 is written in a formal style. It sounds like something the ancient Roman poet, Ovid, might have written. Perhaps fitting for a poem promising to make the Young Man’s virtues last longer than marble or gilded monuments. But Sonnet 18 made the same promise of immortality in a much different strain. That sonnet promised eternal summer and though it did not mention love, it was suffused with it. Sonnet 55 doesn’t sound like it has anything to do with love—until the last line when we are told who will care about the Young Man. Not everyone who can breathe, like Sonnet 18—no, it’s only lovers who matter in the world of Sonnet 55: “You live in this, and dwell in lovers’ eyes.” Don’t let the declamatory verse fool you. Immortality isn’t granted to just anyone. Only lovers need apply.