Sentence 6 in Sonnet 18
This is a sentence in Middle English from Sonnet 18. It is composed of 20 words.
So long as men can breath or eyes can see, so long liues this, and this giues life to thee,
so
so - adverb
long
long - adverb
as
as - subordinating conjunction
can
can - auxiliary
breath
breath - verb
or
or - coordinating conjunction
eyes
can
can - auxiliary
see
see - verb
,
so
so - adverb
long
long - adjective
liues
lives - noun
liue
this
this - pronoun
,
and
and - coordinating conjunction
this
this - pronoun
giues
gives - verb
giue
life
life - noun
to
to - adposition
thee
you - pronoun
,
English translation
As long as people breathe and eyes can see, this poem will live, and it gives life to you.
Description
Analysis of the phrase in context.
The poem concludes with a powerful declaration of immortality through art. The speaker asserts that as long as humanity exists and can appreciate written words, the poem will live on, ensuring that the beloved's beauty is forever remembered. This final line cements the idea that while nature's beauty is ephemeral, the art of poetry can capture and preserve true beauty for all time, thus bestowing eternal life upon the subject of the poem
Word sources
A quick overview of the meaning of each word and its etymology.
| so | so | so | From Old English swā, from Proto-West Germanic *swā. |
| long | long | long | From Old English lang, from Proto-West Germanic *lang. |
| as | as | as | Reduction of alswo, alswa, also, from Old English eallswā. The reduced form is more common in this sense from c. 1200. |
| men | man | man | Inherited from Old English mann, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-, from Proto-Indo-European *mon-. |
| can | can | Alternative form of canne | |
| breath | breath | ||
| or | or | or | From ọ̄̆ther and outher. |
| eyes | eye | awe | From Old English eġe, from Proto-West Germanic *agi, from Proto-Germanic *agaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂égʰos. Doublet of awe. |
| can | can | Alternative form of canne | |
| see | see | sea | Inherited from Old English sǣ, from Proto-West Germanic *saiwi, from Proto-Germanic *saiwiz. |
| so | so | so | From Old English swā, from Proto-West Germanic *swā. |
| long | long | long | From Old English lang, from Proto-West Germanic *lang. |
| liues | liue | ||
| this | this | Alternative spelling of þis | |
| and | and | and | From Old English and, ond, end, from Proto-West Germanic *andi, from Proto-Germanic *andi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti. |
| this | this | Alternative spelling of þis | |
| giues | giue | ||
| life | life | ||
| to | to | to | From Old English tā, tāhe, from Proto-West Germanic *taihā, from Proto-Germanic *taihwǭ (“toe”). |
| thee | thee | Alternative form of þe |