"No longer mourn for me when I am dead" - Matric poetry summary / analysis
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Course
English Home Language
Institution
12th Grade
The First poem of the Matric Poetry 2022 Set. A clear line-by-line analysis and explanation. Including a focus on the overall message, context, metaphor, imagery, and figures of speech evident in the poem. Which can help make an otherwise ambiguous poem with various interpretations, easy to compre...
‘No longer mourn for me when I am
dead’
By William Shakespeare
Structure: Elizabethan Sonnet,
rhyming couplet (last 2 lines) –> clenching argument
About: a lover who has ‘died’/on their death bed and how his lover deals with
this loss. But really it is a metaphor for a breakup between two individuals. The
speaker is not actually on their death bed.
Pronouns:
” you” – is the speaker’s lover who abandoned / left him.
“I” / “Me” - is the speaker who feels abandoned by his lover and this loss of love
is compared to the experience of death/mourning.
Important Poetic Elements/Figures of Speech:
Alliteration (Sibilance) Repetition of a consonant,
L2 specifically “s”
Apostrophe (not the punctuation When the speaker directly refers to
mark) someone who isn’t there/present.
L6
Forced/near/slant Rhyme Changing the pronunciation of a
word, so that it will rhyme with
L13 – L14 another.
1|Page Created by Jaimie Morgan
, Title:
‘No longer mourn for me when I am dead’
Ironic
1) The speaker says he doesn’t want to be mourned, but really does.
2) He does want to be forgotten yet is immortalised because of the poem.
Stanza One:
Tone: Spiteful: The speaker wants to blame the lover and make him feel guilty
for his death.
Line 1: ‘No longer mourn for me Impression: gives the lover
when I am dead’ permission to move on (but not
really) – Irony
- ‘No longer’ – shows mourning
has already begun from the
separation.
- Alliteration of “s” (sibilance):
shows speaker is bad
tempered /sulky
Line 2: ‘Than you shall hear the surly
sullen bell’ - “bell”
a) Church bell → funeral
b) Bells that call him to the after
life
Line 3: ‘Give warning to the world - “warning” – hints to lover’s
that I am fled’ pre/exclusive knowledge to his
death.
- “fled” – hints speakers escape
(perhaps from pain of lover’s
rejection)
Line 4: “From this vile world, with Impression:
vilest worms to dwell;” - The speaker is leaving a
2|Page Created by Jaimie Morgan
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