Sonnet 74
But be contented: when that fell arrestWithout all bail shall carry me away,My life hath in this line some interest,Which for memorial still with thee shall stay.When thou reviewest this, thou dost reviewThe very part was consecrate to thee:The earth can have but earth, which is his due;My spirit is thine, the better part of me:So then thou hast but lost the dregs of life,The prey of worms, my body being dead,The coward conquest of a wretch's knife,Too base of thee to be remembered. The worth of that is that which it contains, And that is this, and this with thee remains.
but dying? There's no need to fear it.I will, with Shakespearean spirittranscend this cruel planebut my verse will remain,to keep me alive when you hear it.