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SONNET 18
Poet
William Shakespeare
Sonnet 18
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou
art more lovely and more temperate: Rough
winds do shake the darling buds of May, And
summers lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd:
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee
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This young man is believed to be The Earl of Southampton who was
Shakespeare's patron*
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Sonnet 18 focuses on the beauty of the young man and how beauty fades but his beauty will not
because it will be remembered by everyone who reads the poem
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Summer days in England are

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unpredictable and the season is short while the beauty of the poet's beloved will be immortalised
(eternalised) in this poem
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How do the elements enhance the message of the poem?
Structure
Sonnet 18 is a typical English or Shakespearean sonnet
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abab cdcd efef gg
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This poem is a sonnet
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In each of the three quatrains, the poet argues why his beloved is
far better/ more worthy/more fair than a summer's day
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(The weather on a summers day on the
other hand is always unpredictable and summer comes to an end
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1st quatrain (lines 1-4)
The poet starts off with a question "Shall I compare thee to summers' day?" In the rest of the poem, the
poet responds to this question
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Early summer in England
(during the month of May) can be rather unkind when rough and strong winds blow, the precious and
vulnerable blossoms from the trees
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2nd quatrain (lines 5-8)
Shakespeare continues to offer reasons why the Earl is far more admirable and moderate than a
summer's day in England
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So, the beauty of the day might easily fade away because of
changes in nature
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This
contrast lies in the fact that, according to the poet, his patron (the Earl of Southampton) will be fair and
beautiful for ever
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The final couplet (lines 13+14)
Shakespeare states that as long as man exists, and has the ability to read, this poem will be read and
every time this poem is being read, the Earl will live and be remembered
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The tone and mood of the poem enhances its
message or central idea
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Examples of these can be found in the following:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd
Rough and hot appeals to our sense of touch while "gold" appeals to our sense of sight
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These images create a vivid
description of what one expects of a summer day
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every fair from fair sometimes declines
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)"

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Death is written with a capital letter in its portrayal as a person, boasting about the fact that it poses a
threat to everybody
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Indeed, this is true because in the 21st century we still read this sonnet and get to know
Shakespeare's friend as a kind, gentle, fair and steadfast person
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Metaphor
The very first line of the poem outlines the metaphor for the whole poem which compares the subject of
the poem to a summer's day
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Instead of saying the sun is like the eye of heaven (simile), the poet simply refers to the eye of heaven
(metaphor)
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The poet uses words to depict the 'unkindness' and unpredictability of a summer's day as opposed to
the kindness and steadfastness of his patron
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SONNET 18 PARAPHRASE
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Shall 1 compare you to a summers day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

You are more lovely and more constant

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, Rough winds shake the beloved buds of May
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

And summer is far too short:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

At times the sun is too hot,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

Or often goes behind the clouds;

And every fair from fair sometime declines
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So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long as there are people on this earth,

So long lives this and this gives life to the

So long will this poem live on, making you immortal

Questions 1
1
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2
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What is the rhyme scheme of this sonnet?
4
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5
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6
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summer's day)
(a) ldentify the figure of speech used in this line
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7
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(a) Line 2: Temperate
(b) Line 2: Thou
(c) Line 3: Buds
(c) Line 4: Lease
8
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shines')
(a) Identify the figure of speech used in this line
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Refer to line 7 ('And every
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10
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Answers

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1
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It has 14 lines and ends with a rhyming couplet that summarises the theme
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An ltalian sonnet is generally divided into an octave and the sestet
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3
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Two consecutively rhyming lines in a verse
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Four - lined verse is called a quatrain
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(a) Metaphor
(b) The lady in the poem is compared to summer, this means she has
a pleasant disposition
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(a) pleasant / constant
(b you
(c) flowers
(c) contract/ rent
8
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Alliteration
Alliteration (as used in the poem) emphasises the fading of beauty in summer/ nature
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Power/Victory of poetry/literature/ eternal love/ immortal beauty
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/
Love is eternal and does not change
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Refer to the structure of the poem
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(b) Explain the structure of this sonnet
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(a) ldentify the figure of speech in line 3
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buds of May,')
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3
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('Sometimes too hot
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Using your own words explain these lines
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Refer to lines 9-10
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fair thou lowest
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) in the ANSWER BOOK
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A
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disgusting
C
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declining
5
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('Nor shall death
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(a) Why is the speaker confident that death will not claim his beloved's beauty?
(b) Explain the use of personification in line 11
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Using your OWN words, explain the last two lines of the poem
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How believable is this poem? Discuss your view
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a) Shakespearian/English/Elizabethan/Miltonic Sonnet
OR
ltalian/Petrarchan/Miltonic Sonnet
(b) It is divided into three groups of four line/ quatrains
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OR
The first eight (8) lines/octave make a statement
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It suggests a shift in the argument
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(a) Personification
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It is violent toward the delicate buds
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Sometimes the sun is too hot and other times it is hidden, perhaps by the clouds
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4
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(a) The poet believes that his lover's/ beauty is eternal/ immortal
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Coming near to death is compared to someone who walks in the shadow of someone else
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In the couplet the poet refers to the victory over death
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7
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Her beauty cannot literally last forever because she is not immortal
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The lasting beauty is implied in the memory of the poet
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•The poem is realistic
Shakespeare successfully wrote a beautiful love poem
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He refers to the everlasting beauty as the inner beauty that can last forever
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