Facing his own death, the speaker tells the young man not to mourn him — in fact, to forget him entirely — so that grief won't hurt him and the sneering world won't get the chance to mock him for it.
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:
When I am dead, don't mourn for me any longer than you can hear the grim, sullen bell warning the world that I have fled this vile world to live with viler worms.
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.
In fact, if you read this line, don't even remember the hand that wrote it — because I love you so much that I would rather be forgotten in your sweet thoughts than have a thought of me cause you pain.
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;
Or if — I repeat — you look at this poem when I have perhaps been mixed back into the clay, then don't so much as say my poor name out loud; let your love decay right along with my life.
Lest the wise world should look into your moan,
And mock you with me after I am gone.
Otherwise the know-it-all world might examine your grieving and use me to mock you after I am gone.
Sonnet 71 summary
Facing his own death, the speaker tells the young man not to mourn him — in fact, to forget him entirely — so that grief won't hurt him and the sneering world won't get the chance to mock him for it.
Famous lines in Sonnet 71, explained
- “No longer mourn for me when I am dead Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell” (line 1)
- The famous opening instruction: grieve only as long as the funeral bell rings, then stop. It sounds selfless — the speaker wants to spare the young man pain — though many readers notice the twist: a poem saying 'forget me' guarantees he is remembered every time it is read.
Keep reading
About this translation: the original text follows the public-domain Project Gutenberg Globe edition; the modern English translation was written in-house for Polytranslator and is reviewed on an ongoing basis (last revised August 2026). Free to print and photocopy for classroom use. Cite as: “Sonnets, Sonnet 71. Polytranslator side-by-side translation, polytranslator.com/shakespeare/sonnets/sonnet-71.”
Studying the language itself? Our Shakespearean English course teaches thou/thee, the verbs, and the meter — free through Unit 2. Or try the Shakespearean English translator.
Free side-by-side translation — polytranslator.com/shakespeare/sonnets/sonnet-71