SONNET 18

William Shakespeare
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 Sonnet 18

1 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

2 Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
3 Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
4 And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

5 Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

6 And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
7 And every fair from fair sometime declines,
8 By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;

9 But thy eternal summer shall not fade

10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
11 Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
12 When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;

13 So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

14 So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Sonnet 18
1 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
2 Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
3 Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
4 And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
5 Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
6 And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
7 And every fair from fair sometime declines,
8 By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm’d;
9 But thy eternal summer shall not fade
10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
11 Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
12 When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
13 So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
14 So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Let’s look at the poem’s structure.
• Poet: William Shakespeare
• Structure: . English sonnet (1) 14 lines (1) 3 stanzas with 4 lines each = quatrains and a couplet consisting of two lines (1) The rhyme scheme is ababcdcdefef gg (1)
• Rhythm: Iambic pentameter – unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
• Rhyme pattern: abab cdcd efef gg
a
b • Rhyme scheme: Alternate rhyme and a couplet
a
• Summary of content: The poet compares the speaker’s friend to a summer’s day. He points out that the summer’s day is often imperfect/lacking as it is sometimes – too short,
b too rough, too hot, too cloudy. In contrast the friend has none of these characteristics and is immortalised (to live forever) by the everlasting power of this poem. The poem will
forever praise the perfect friend and through this the poet’s poetry will also last forever. In Modern English the poem would read as follows(paraphrased):
c • Shall I compare you to a summer's day?
d • You are more lovely and more constant:
c • Rough winds shake the beloved buds of May
d • And summer is far too short:
• At times the sun is too hot,
• Or often goes behind the clouds;
e
• And everything beautiful sometime will lose its beauty,
f
• By misfortune or by nature's planned out course.
e
f
• But your youth shall not fade,
• Nor will you lose the beauty that you possess;
• Nor will death claim you for his own,
g • Because in my eternal verse you will live forever.
g
• So long will this poem live on, making you immortal.
So long as there are people on this earth,
• Theme(THE MEssage): The poet is contrasting the imperfections of a summer’s day with the perfections of a poet’s patron/lover (keeper of....) which have been immortalised
(being able to live forever). The timelessness of love and beauty, death and immortality, and in particular the immortality of art and subject matter.
• Tone/Mood/Emotion: an endearing, deep devotion for a lover. The speaker in the poem emphasizes his adoration of his lover's lasting beauty that will never fade like beauty
found in nature. The lover will live on in the speaker's poem.Starts off optimistic, but becomes frustrated in the second quatrain. He is admiring and affectionate(caring). His
frustration is that nature will never match the perfection of his friend. His disparagement (talking bad or belittling another person) is clear in the second quatrain.
 STANZA 1
Line 1
Rhetorical Question: It is a question where no answer is expected and used to focus our
attention on the fact that: the speaker asks whether he should compare his beloved
(addressed directly as "thee") to a summer's day. The poet is asking for advice as he is
doubtful. ‘thee’ refers to the poet’s beloved
Line 2
The poet identifies two positive features of ‘a summer day’, i.e. lovely and temperate. The speaker suggests
that his beloved is constant and calm, not unpredictable and moody. The word ‘temperate’ suggests
moderation, self-control. He has answered his own question. She is more loving, kind and more perfect. ’Thou’
is also ‘you’ – or the poet’s beloved. Expectation that summer is seen to be the best, good season. The colon
‘:’ an explanation follows as to why she is more lovely and temperate than summer.

1 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

2 Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
3 Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
4 And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Line 3
In line 3 he starts listing things about summer that are bad, negative and imperfect. The effect time has on things are
negative. This is opposite (ANTITHESIS) of the friend.
1 Summer days can be windy and rough, bringing rain. These rough (uneven, irregular, bumpy) winds can cause disaster/harm
in nature. Especially with the ‘darling‘ (something that is gorgeous, adorable, precious, sweet. You also call your loved one a
‘darling’ – it is a term of endearment, expressing love. A darling can also be a young girl on the brink of womanhood). The
beloved is not rough, i.e. harsh, and destructive in the way that the winds that damage the May buds are ‘rough’. A summer’s day
is not always perfect. The stormy winds that sometimes blow in May sway the trees so heavily that the buds of the early summer
are shaken off.
SECOND NEGATIVE OF SUMMER - “lease” – This is a contract where you RENT (you do not own it) something for a FIXED
PERIOD (it ends at a specific time). This is a FINANCIAL term. METAPHOR – The length of summer is compared to a lease
period that someone rents a house. PERSONIFICATION – Summer is ‘leasing’ (human quality) the earth for a period. Soon
winter will come. “too short” – This is a serious shortcoming of summer. Time is the Arch Enemy of beauty – all fades in time. It
disappears abruptly and is fickle, shallow. Remember line 2 – the lady is not like this. She has long-lasting qualities. It takes a
short period for the season to change; also nature, fate (chance), and time destroy (‘every fair’) beauty as nature pursues its
course. /The period (lease) of time that summer lasts is much too short; time is beauty’s enemy.
 STANZA 2
Line 5
THIRD NEGATIVE OF SUMMER - “too hot” – Summer or the sun in summer can be scorching, unbearable and
excessively hot.. “Sometime” – At some point in time, during the summer, at one stage. METAPHOR – The sun
is compared to the eye of heaven which has a dazzling appearance and scorches (burns) the earth.
PERSONIFICATION – The sun has eyes (human quality) that can look down on the earth. The sun is generally
associated with something positive, but here the speaker suggests that the sun is a source of discomfort – too
hot in summer. Remember line 2 – the lady is not like this. She is not too cold or too hot. She does not make
him feel uncomfortable. At other times the sun becomes unbearable.
5 Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
6 And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
7 And every fair from fair sometime declines,
8 By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;
Line 7
FIFTH NEGATIVE OF SUMMER - “fair....declines” – Summer’s beauty will decline like everything that is
beautiful reduces. Fair is another word for beauty. So the speaker says that the beauty or fair(ness) of
everything that is fair (beautiful) will die, wither or fade (decline). Not even summer – the most beautiful, perfect
season will survive. METAPHOR – The fair beauty is compared to everything that is beautiful. ALLITERATION –
The repetition of the ‘f’ emphasises the fact that everything fades with time. “sometime” – At some point in time,
during the summer, at one stage, definitely. PUN – Fair also sounds like the word ‘fare’. Fare means a price for
something, a payment to be made. There is no price/payment that is enough that will keep summer here forever,
everlasting. Summer loses its value like an old article. Time/nature/summer – all die in the long run.
METONOMY – This is when something is referred to by a word which describes the quality of that thing. E.g.
You do not say the old man, you say: ‘Wisdom’. Here the word ‘fair’ is used to describe all that is beautiful/all
forms of beauty. Remember line 2 – the lady is not like this. Her beauty will last forever/eternal.
Line 6
FOURTH NEGATIVE OF SUMMER - “dimm’d” – Summer’s gold complexion is dimmed – when the sun disappears
behind clouds. “Complexion” – It can mean – your outward appearance or it can mean your inner, cheerful disposition
(character). METAPHOR – The sun is compared to the golden skin, outward appearance or face. PERSONIFICATION
– The sun has a golden complexion, face (human quality). “golden” – The sun is precious as provider of heat and light
and the sun is beautiful. ELISION - “dimm’d” – it should be ‘dimmed’. This is done for the rhythm of the poem.
METAPHOR – The sun is dimmed, lowered, reduced or darkened by the clouds. The sun’s disappearing is compared
to the dimming of the light. CONTRAST – the brightness of the sun (hot eyes dazzling) and the dark, clouded sky.
INVERSION – The ‘is’ is placed in an unexpected word order. This is done to emphasise the fact the sun is clouded,
fading – ‘dimm’d’.
Remember line 2 – the lady is not like this. She outshines the clouds of life and shines brightly no matter what life
throws at her.
Line 8
“chance...nature...untrimme’d” – Summer’s beauty will fade/change/dim/disappear – if it by a unlucky
incident or if it be because that is the natural process of dying. It will be trimmed or cut short. It could be an
UNNATURAL incident – unlucky/unexpected/unwanted interruption/accidently – that will change nature’s
course in an unnatural way OR It could be a NATURAL process – things degenerate through old age, birth,
growth, death – in which beauty is changed. ELISION – “untrimm’d” – means to be stripped, without a fuss,
not recognised, quietly, unseen. It could be a loss of trimming, frills and decoration. Beautiful things
naturally lose their shine/fancy. It could also mean the untrimmed sails of a ship. Nature is a ship with sails
that are not adjusted to the changes in the wind to change its course. In the end all beauty (decline) either
by accident or as a result of the unavoidable laws of nature. These lines emphasise that beauty is
temporary- all beauty fades eventually. Time is beauty’s enemy.
 Line 9
STANZA 3
The conjunction ‘But’ sets the tone of the next quatrain. The speaker suggests that his lover’s beauty is eternal; it will never
change nor fade. The speaker’s beloved will never lose her wonderful qualities. “eternal....” – The friend’s worth will not fade/dim.
Even though she is mortal, her loveliness and temperateness of line 2 will last forever. Conjunction - “But” – This contrasting
conjunction – it brings a change to the tone in the poem. The tone now changes to a focus on his loved one and no longer on the Line 10
unworthiness of the natural summer. HYPERBOLE – this is an exaggeration – something that is mortal can never be completely “Nor....” – The friend owns beauty and she will never lose possession of it.
immortal. What is eternal is his fame and reputation – it will last forever. METAPHOR – The best period of his loved one’s life is “fair....” – The fairness has now deepened in quality – her excellent qualities.
compared to a perfect summer’s day. It will last forever Nature in line 7 declines and in line 9 the speaker says that it becomes “ow’st” – old fashioned word for own, possess, have.
faded – both indicating the effect of the gradual weakening and ageing of man and nature. ‘fade’ – links with the ‘decline’ in line 7. He suggests that beauty is something that is borrowed from nature – that it must be
RHETORICAL DEVICE – REPETITION - ‘not’ – linked with the ‘nor’ in lines 10 and 11. This shows the speaker’s firm belief that paid back as time progresses.
his friend’s loveliness will last forever and will be respected forever.
In this interpretation, ‘fair’ can be a pun on ‘fare’, or the fare required by nature for
9 But thy eternal summer shall not fade life’s journey. This borrowing and lending theme within the poem is true to both
nature and humanity. Summer, for example, is said to have a ‘lease’ with ‘all too
10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; short a date’.
ELISION - “ow’st” – should be owest. This is done for the rhythm of the poem.
11 Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
12 When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;
Line 11

Death is personified – portrayed as a person who boasts (brags) about his power over people or brags about his
power to destroy life and beauty. He is portrayed as an unpleasant, over-confident person. The use of the phrase
‘death brag,’ evokes the feelings of dread, disgust and horror. She will sooner or later die a physical death and
Death will want to brag about it/that she has gone to the darkness/shade. METAPHOR - Death is like the ruler
(human quality) of the underworld. Coming near to death is compared to someone who walks in the shadow of
someone else, who nearly touches the shadow.PERSONIFICATION - Death is like the ruler (human quality) of
the underworld/doom/darkness/hell where the spirits of the dead wander/strolls/walk around aimlessly. Death is
like a vain braggart who will not have the privilege of taking the speaker’s friend. Death is less frightening ig you
make it human. ALLITERATION – The repetition of the ‘sh’ emphasises the fact shadows of death. ELISION -
“wander’st” – should be wanderest. This is done for the rhythm of the poem. It says that when death comes
around to take her away and she nears death, it will not be able to brag about its power, because it will be
powerless.
Line 12
Eternal lines: the speaker refers to lines of poetry. He states that because these lines of poetry will be read
forever, the beloved’s beauty will live forever. The speaker’s poetry eternalises her youth and her beauty.
Because these lines of poetry by Shakespeare will be read forever, the lady’s beauty will live forever. His
poetry eternalises her youth and her beauty. When in the everlasting eternal lines of the poetry, the poem
she will grow, grow, expand and flourish. as time continues into eternity. As this poem is continuously
read, this lady will grow and grow, because everyone will know about her. The lines of poetry will keep her
alive for as long as this poem is read. ELISION - “grow’st” – should be growest. This is done for the
rhythm of the poem.
 STANZA 4

13 So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

14 So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Lines 13-14

The beloved will continue to live through this poem the speaker has written (to immortalise the beloved). OR
As long as there are people that are alive on earth and as long as people can read, this poem will live on forever. As long as this poem is read in future and in years to come, the poem itself will be the carrier of the eternal life of
the speaker’s beloved. This poem will make the beloved immortal (eternal) and give life to her beauty. The beloved will live forever in the hearts of the people who read this sonnet (poem). The poem itself is the life-giving force of
the speaker’s beloved.
As long as the human race will exist – people living. METAPHOR - As long as eyes can see – This is a METAPHOR for man’s interest in nature. As long as there are people that are alive on earth and as long as people can read,
this poem will live on forever. This is how long this poem will live and this, the poem gives her life. ‘Lives’ is a verb and life is a noun. His poetry will be alive eternally. RHETORICAL DEVICE –REPETITION – this - Repetition of
the pronoun ‘this’ stresses the importance that Shakespeare attaches to his own poetry The tone is a bit smug here – possibly? The memory of his loved one depends on Shakespeare’s poetic art – in which her merits are
glorified .

Diction / figurative language: Rhetorical question/Metaphor (line 1)

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
The rhetorical question emphasises the difficult task the speaker is faced with.
Apostrophe: The speaker uses apostrophe when he addresses his beloved; whom we never see responding at any point in the poem
Pun (line 2) :Line 2: "Temperate" is a pun, since it carries two important meanings here. When applied to the beloved, it means ‘showing moderation, ‘but when applied to the summer’s day it
means, "having mild temperatures."
Metaphor/Personification (line 3-4) : ‘…darling buds of May’
‘And summer’s lease hath all too short a date’
The wind is portrayed as having human qualities; it is violent towards the small, dear, delicate buds, whose vulnerability is contrasted with the harsh destructiveness of the wind.
Metaphor/Personification (lines 5-6) : Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed; they eternal summer shall not fail, Personification – line 11 – death boasts that it will kill the beloved. Alliteration’ ‘fair from fair’
Questions:

6.1 6.1.1 (a) (b) (c) (d) Elizabethan quatrains rhyming couplet iambic (4)

6.1.2 Summer has strong/harsh winds.  It is too brief.  Sometimes the temperature is too high/the sun is scorching. It is often cloudy/overcast.  NOTE: Accept any
TWO of the above. (2)

6.1.3 (a) B / alliteration (1) (b) Everything eventually loses its beauty whether by coincidence/ accident or through natural causes. (2)

6.1.4 (a) Personification  (1) (b) The speaker personifies Death which falsely boaststhat it will claim the speaker's beloved.  (2)

6.1.5 (a) 'eternal' (1) (b) The speaker will write about his beloved's beauty in this poem/his poetry.  (1)

6.1.6 Adoration/devotion/affection (1)

6.1.7 Open-ended. Accept a relevant response which shows an understanding of the following viewpoints, among others: Yes. • The speaker claims his beloved is not
moody/temperamental like the season of summer. • She is not harsh like the wind that could be destructive in damaging the buds. • The beloved's beauty does not change
unlike the sun which is either too scorching or at times hidden by the clouds. • Summer is a short period of time; his beloved's beauty, however, is eternal and not even
death can affect it as it will be immortalised in the poem. OR His beloved's beauty cannot be compared to a perfect summer's day. • Summer is regarded by many as being
a beautiful season. However, the speaker's perception of his beloved's beauty is personalised and not shared by everybody. • Just as summer has imperfections (strong
winds, hot sun), so too does the speaker's beloved (bad temper, mood swings). • Everything is subject to the passage of time. NOTE: Do NOT award a mark for YES or NO.
Credit responses where a combination is given. For full marks, the response must be well-substantiated. A candidate can score 1–2 marks for a response which is not well-
substantiated. The candidate's interpretation must be grounded in the poem. (3)

3.1.1 Elizabethan/English sonnet

3.1.2 The poem has 14 lines. It consists of 3 quatrains which has 4 lines and 1 couplet which has 2 lines. The rhyme is abab, cdcd, efef, gg.
3.2 Summer has strong/harsh winds.  It is too brief.  Sometimes the temperature is too high/the sun is scorching. It
is often cloudy/overcast.  NOTE: Accept any TWO of the above.

3.3.1 C

3.3.2 Everything eventually loses its beauty whether by coincidence/ accident or through natural causes.

3.4.1 Personification

3.4.2 The speaker personifies Death which falsely boast. that it will claim the speaker's beloved.

3.5 Adoration/affection

3.6 THE ME ssage: The poet concludes that her beauty will be everlasting through his words. Her beauty will live forever
through his poetry.

3.7 He compares the beauty to summer which he concludes is short, too hot, too rough (winds) and comes to the
conclusion that her beauty will last forever through his beautiful words.

3.8 I agree – the poet describes her beauty through his words. As long as there are people on earth who can read and
live, her beauty will live forever through his words.
Answers:
6.1 6.1.1 (a) (b) (c) (d) Elizabethan quatrain rhyming couplet iambic (4)
6.1.2 Summer has strong/harsh winds.  It is too brief.  Sometimes the temperature is too high/the sun is scorching. It is often
cloudy/overcast.  NOTE: Accept any TWO of the above. (2)
6.1.3 (a) B / alliteration (1) (b) Everything eventually loses its beauty whether by coincidence/ accident or through natural causes. (2)
6.1.4 (a) Personification  (1) (b) The speaker personifies Death which falsely boasts. that it will claim the speaker's beloved.  (2)
6.1.5 (a) 'eternal' (1) (b) The speaker will write about his beloved's beauty in this poem/his poetry.  (1)
6.1.6 Adoration/devotion/affection (1)
6.1.7 Open-ended. Accept a relevant response which shows an understanding of the following viewpoints, among others: Yes. • The
speaker claims his beloved is not moody/temperamental like the season of summer. • She is not harsh like the wind that could be
destructive in damaging the buds. • The beloved's beauty does not change unlike the sun which is either too scorching or at times hidden
by the clouds. • Summer is a short period of time; his beloved's beauty, however, is eternal and not even death can affect it as it will be
immortalised in the poem. OR His beloved's beauty cannot be compared to a perfect summer's day. • Summer is regarded by many as
being a beautiful season. However, the speaker's perception of his beloved's beauty is personalised and not shared by everybody. • Just as
summer has imperfections (strong winds, hot sun), so too does the speaker's beloved (bad temper, mood swings). • Everything is subject
to the passage of time. NOTE: Do NOT award a mark for YES or NO. Credit responses where a combination is given. For full marks, the
response must be well-substantiated. A candidate can score 1–2 marks for a response which is not well-substantiated. The candidate's
interpretation must be grounded in the poem. (3)
3.1.1 Elizabethan/English sonnet
3.1.2 The poem has 14 lines. It consists of 3 quatrains which has 4 lines and 1 couplet which has 2 lines. The rhyme is abab, cdcd, efef,
gg.
3.2 Summer has strong/harsh winds. It is too brief. Sometimes the temperature is too high/the sun is scorching It is often
cloudy/overcast. NOTE: Accept any TWO of the above.

3.3.1 C

3.3.2 Everything eventually loses its beauty whether by coincidence/ accident or through natural causes.

3.4.1 Personification

3.4.2 The speaker personifies Death which falsely boaststhat it will claim the speaker's beloved. 

3.5 Adoration/affection

3.6 THE ME ssage: The poet concludes that her beauty will be everlasting through his words. Her beauty will live forever
through his poetry.

3.7 He compares the beauty to summer which he concludes is short, too hot, too rough (winds) and comes to the
conclusion that her beauty will last forever through his beautiful words.

3.8 I agree – the poet describes her beauty through his words. As long as there are people on earth who can read and
live, her beauty will live forever through his words.