Question

The word “sonnet” is derived from the Italian word sonetto, meaning “a little sound” or “a little song.” A Sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines with a structured rhyme scheme in which a thought about a subject is developed thoroughly.

You will read two sonnets on the powerful effects of Time.

Answer 1

1. “Not Marble, nor the Gilded Monuments”
   • Author: William Shakespeare
   • Core Argument: Time wears away stone monuments, grand statues, and gold-plated palaces. However, the person praised in this poem will live forever because the poem itself cannot be destroyed by war, death, or time.
2. “Ozymandias”
   • Author: Percy Bysshe Shelley
   • Core Argument: A traveller finds a broken, decaying statue of a once-powerful king in an empty desert. It shows that no matter how mighty a ruler thinks they are, time will eventually turn their legacy to dust.