In "Sonnet 55," what is the main idea stated in the first quatrain?

The beauty of the person addressed will outlast marble monuments because it is

recorded in this poem.

The statue is prettier than the prince.

The prince is so beautiful that they will make a statue of him.

The beauty of the person addressed will outlast marble monuments because it is recorded in this poem.

Explanation:

William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 55" is like most other sonnets, a poem about the love and his appreciation for the other individual. But it also deviates a bit from the normal sonnet in that it shows his insecurity about his love and his feelings.

The first quatrain of the sonnet goes like this-

Not marble nor the gilded monuments

Of princes shall outlive this powerful rhyme,

But you shall shine more bright in these contents

Than unswept stone besmeared with slu ttish time.

These lines states just how long lasting his work of art / poem will make sure of the beauty of the person. Unlike the monuments and physical things of the world, the love for his beloved will never fade away, irrespective of time. Time can destroy things, even great marble monuments of princes and kings, but the poem the lover had written for his beloved will always be the same.