Sonnet 18Shall 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 summer’s lease hath all too short a date.Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest 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.
Shakespeare's Creation
The works of Shakespeare will be forever iconic. This is because they are relevant and forever benevolent to the times. Shakespeare displays courage and beauty in his works which I think are especially portrayed in his 1608 sonnet 'shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’. Sonnet 18 along with other sonnets have been hugely critiqued by many other poets as they challenge poetical and political conventions of the 15th century and many more centuries as his works are still admired today.
Follow this link Shakespeare is Everywhere
Christopher Gaze implies that sonnet 18 may have been a
eulogy for Shakespeare's beloved son that had sadly passed away when he was
young. This creates such a mystery of Shakespeare that adds to the beauty of
his poetry. Christopher gaze also suggest the idea that Shakespeare’s sonnet
leaves the son 'frozen in time' which I think is a wonderful way of capturing
Shakespeare poetry as that is also 'frozen in time' as Shakespeare literature
is still so precious.
A beautiful Sonnet
The sonnet is a fourteen-line poem written in iambic
pentameter, which employs one of several rhyme schemes, the Shakespearian
sonnet follows a strict rhyme scheme ABAB/CDCD/EFEF/GG. The
Shakespearean sonnet is the simplest form of rhyme which includes a Volta
to present an argument to the reader. In the sonnet 'Shall I compare thee to a
summer’s day?' the Volta is created in the line 'But thy eternal summer shall
not fade,’ The use of the use of the conjunction 'but' creates a sudden
negative in the poem as the attitude changes. As though a summers day
beauty fades, but within the beauty will never fade. The impression of the
beauty will last forever. Shakespeare's use of the Shakespearean rhyme scheme
and imagery does complicate the meaning of the poem because Shakespeare describes
something so beautiful but creates sadness when the summer’s day comes to an
end.
The Rhetoric
Shakespeare enjoys making the reader intrigued and often makes the reader wonder the true meaning beyond his work. Shakespeare like using the rhetoric to demonstrate power and authority. As a male writer in the 1600’s he had a lot more dominance over women writers. The modal verb ‘Shall’ enforces this as he questions but isn’t determined otherwise he would’ve used a word such as ‘I will’ the imperative question maybe implies that he is unsure how to approach the situation, or how the beloved is just so beautiful that any comparison Is just too great to compare. The modal verb of 'shall' also suggest that he is unsure of how to address his beloved, as it can appear to be more formal but also more questionable and polite like he is asking for consent. He is asking for clarification of her beauty as he is so taken back and almost lost for words in this question that is meant to be unanswered, it is hard to summarises how powerful his beloved's beauty is.
Imagery
Shakespeare uses imagery to describe the beauty of his beloved. For example, ‘Thou art more lovely and more temperate’ this implies that even a summers day isn’t as lovely as his beloved. Shakespeare contrasts the idea of a summers day by adding negatives about a summers day such as 'Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines' this connotes that even on a hot summers day the sun can be unbearable. Christopher Gazes idea that he is writing this poem for a sun, could conntote an feeling of anger that the summer’s day reminds him of his son, but his son will always be with him in his heart. This can also have a religious connotation of 'heaven' as he feels like his beloved is an angel. Shakespeare contrasts the positives and negatives but in conclusion he suggests his beloved has the beauty that lasts for ever and by putting his love's beauty into a poetic form, he is preserving it forever, even though a summers day doesn't last forever. This makes the beloved a greater force than nature.
Historical references
In sonnet 18, Shakespeare refers to the idea of an ‘eternal summer’ in awe is this a reflection of Shakespeare eternal works that even in the modern day he is shining bright. This is reflected in the final two lines of the poem with the repetition of the word ‘so long’. This connotes that so long as men can breathe they will treasure Shakespeare’s works and he is the eternal summer. Shakespeare loved creating suspicion and magical references in his work as in the Elizabethan period people were very superstitious. Shakespeare creates a supernatural atmosphere in his plays and poetry that is still represented in the London theatre where his plays are still performed.
Modern Day
Many people wonder if Sonnet 18 was written about a female or a young man. But either way, this poem is used at weddings and funerals to capture the beauty of a person.
Critic of Shakespeare's sonnet 18
In the modern day, Feminism is one of Shakespeare’s most
fierce critics. This is because of how he portrays woman in his plays and
poetry. It is thought 'Shakespeare’s imagination was largely inspired by
Italian and French models' (Hadfield, 2014).
Prince says, "Few English or Americans readers nowadays
will respond to happily wanton fancies as Venus and Adonis and characterized
Lucrece as overlong confused and morbid" Writing in 1960, their previous
Arden editor 'prince' didn’t expect readers to admire Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Prince makes it clear that Shakespeare often wrote about death and love was
represented in a more desirable manner which you can imagine was popular in the
1600’s. In every society and generation people will die, therefore it is
important to bring out the beauty and admiration of the dead.
