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  • Sonnet 18 GCSE English Literature - Poems Deep and Dangerous Study Guide PDF

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    In this sonnet, Shakespeare compares his beloved to summer in order to praise their superior beauty and stability. While summer can be unpredictable with storms or heat, and all beauty fades with time, the poet argues his lover's beauty will be eternal. Through the poet's verses, their beauty will live on for as long as people can experience and appreciate poetry. The sonnet emphasizes the perfection and immortality of the beloved through its metaphors and rhyming couplet conclusion.

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    In this sonnet, Shakespeare compares his beloved to summer in order to praise their superior beauty and stability. While summer can be unpredictable with storms or heat, and all beauty fades with time, the poet argues his lover's beauty will be eternal. Through the poet's verses, their beauty will live on for as long as people can experience and appreciate poetry. The sonnet emphasizes the perfection and immortality of the beloved through its metaphors and rhyming couplet conclusion.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    39 views4 pages

    Sonnet 18 GCSE English Literature - Poems Deep and Dangerous Study Guide PDF

    Uploaded by

    faryal khan
    In this sonnet, Shakespeare compares his beloved to summer in order to praise their superior beauty and stability. While summer can be unpredictable with storms or heat, and all beauty fades with time, the poet argues his lover's beauty will be eternal. Through the poet's verses, their beauty will live on for as long as people can experience and appreciate poetry. The sonnet emphasizes the perfection and immortality of the beloved through its metaphors and rhyming couplet conclusion.

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    of 4

    SONNET18

    (SHALLICOMPARETHEETOASUMMERSDAY?)

    ShallIcomparetheetoasummersday?
    Thouartmorelovelyandmoretemperate.
    RoughwindsdoshakethedarlingbudsofMay,
    Andsummersleasehathalltooshortadate.
    Sometimetoohottheeyeofheavenshines,
    Andoftenishisgoldcomplexiondimmed
    Andeveryfairfromfairsometimedeclines,
    Bychance,ornatureschangingcourse,untrimmed
    Butthyeternalsummershallnotfade,
    Norlosepossessionofthatfairthouowst,
    Norshalldeathbragthouwandrestinhisshade,
    WhenineternallinestoTimethougrowst.
    Solongasmencanbreathe,oreyescansee,
    Solonglivesthis,andthisgiveslifetothee.

    WilliamShakespeare15641616

    WilliamShakespeare

    Notes
    temperate
    (2):
    i.e.,evenlytemperednotovercomebypassion.

    lease

    (4)
    :i.e.hereitmeanstheborrowedtimeofsummer

    theeyeofheaven
    (5):
    i.e.,thesun.

    everyfairfromfairsometimedeclines
    (7):
    i.e.,thebeauty(fair)ofeverythingbeautiful(fair)
    willfade(declines).

    nature'schangingcourse
    (8):
    i.e.,thenaturalchangesagebrings.
    thatfairthouow'st
    (10):
    i.e.,thatbeautyyoupossess.

    ineternallines...growest
    (12):
    Thepoetisusingagraftingmetaphorinthisline.Graftingisa
    techniqueusedtojoinpartsfromtwoplantswithcordssothattheygrowasone.Thusthe
    belovedbecomesimmortal,graftedtotimewiththepoet'scords(his"eternallines").
    BACKGROUND
    Thisasonnetof14lines,oneofover150sonnetswhichShakespearewrote.
    Sonnet18isoneofthegreatestandbestlovedlovepoemsanditwasprobablywrittentoa
    youngman.

    WHATISTHEMEANINGOFTHEPOEM?
    Inthefirst4
    lines(quatrain)thepoetpraiseshisbelovedwhoismorelovelythana
    summersday.Evenearlysummerismarkedbystrongwindswhichcanruinthebuds.
    Inthenextquatrain,
    thepoetsaysthesummercanbetoohotorcloudyandsaysthatbeauty
    willfadeasnaturechanges(peoplegrowold).

    Inthethirdquatrain
    thepoetsayshisloverwillnotchangebutactuallybecomeaneternal
    summerafterbeingearliercomparedtochangeablesummer.Theloverwillnotlosehis
    beautyandwillnotdie.
    Inthefinalrhymingcouplet
    thepoetsaysthataslongaspeoplelive,hispoetrywillliveon
    andensuretheimmortalityandlifeofhislover
    WHATARETHEMAINIDEASANDTHEMES?
    Thestabilityorimmortalityofloveandbeauty
    Theperfectionofthebeloved
    Howpoetrycanimmortalisebeauty

    WHATARETHEASPECTSOFSTYLEWHICHAREEFFECTIVE?
    Theemphasisandstressinthefirstlineshouldnotbeonshallbecausethepoemis
    withconfidencegoingtocomparehislovertoasummersdayandtothelovers
    superiorcredit.
    Themetaphorofasummersdayhasarangeofcontrasts:itcanbestormy,brief
    lived,hot,cloudyandissubjecttothechangesofnature.Bycomparing(and
    contrasting)hisbelovedtoasummersdayhecansetuphisloverasbeingeternalin
    beautyandunchanging.
    TherearereferencestoTime(personified)anddeathbuttheloverissetapartfrom
    these.
    Theeffectofthefinalrhymingcoupletiscertainanddefiniteinitsrhymeandinthe
    balancebetweenthetwopartsofeachline.Acaesuraisabreakinaline,(seethe
    commas)andgivesfurtherweighttothepoetsthoughtsandlove.
    ThephraseThedarlingbudsofMayhasbecomewellknown(somuchof
    Shakespeareslanguagehas)asitgaverisetothetitleforanH.EBatesnovel(1958)
    andthenatelevisioncomedyseries.

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