Shakespeare mostly employs natural images to express his sentiments about his beloved's

beauty throughout the poem. He gives a different description of summer from what we
typically think of. “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May” shows that the poet sees the
summer climate as a blow to the spring flowers. In comparison to the beauty of summer, he
wants to demonstrate how much more beautiful his sweetheart is. Shakespeare makes an
effort to dispel any pleasant memories of summer so that the reader can see how much he
elevates the picture of his beloved. In addition, when the poet describes the sun, he uses the
words “gold complexion dimmed.” The poet wants readers to understand that his lover has
looks that will never change and that summer pales tremendously in comparison to his beloved
by downplaying the familiar brilliance of the warm, welcoming sun and referring to its ray as
"dimmed."

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 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.

Elements
Rhyme
A. Day, may
B. Temperate, date
C. Shines, decline
D. Dimmed, untrimmed
E. Fade, shade
F. Ow’st, grow’st
G. See, thee

Rhythm

Shall I com pare thee to a sum mer’s day?

Thou art more love ly and more tem per ate:
Rough winds do shake the dar ling buds of May,
And sum mer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Some time too hot the eye of hea ven shines,
And of ten is his gold com plex ion dimm‘d;
And eve ry fair from fair some time de clines,
By chance or na ture’s chang ing course un trimm’d;
But thy e ter nal sum mer shall not fade
Nor lose po ssess ion of that fair thou ow est;
Nor shall Death brag thou wan der’st in his shade,
When in e ter nal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

(Try reciting the poem aloud to yourself with the proper rhythm. Remember that the
stressed syllables are those in italics.)

Meter
-Each line consist 10 syllables.

Imagery
There are images of a summer’s day, rough winds, withering of blooming roses , leasing of
possession, the hot sunshine , the dim sunshine, Death, the underworld and the end of human
civilization.
 ‘Rough’ and ‘hot’ appeal to the sense of touch, while ‘shines’ and ‘gold’ appeal to the sense of
sight. In fact, the ‘buds of May’ can be an appeal to the sense of smell by referring to flowers.
These are just a few instances of the imagery Shakespeare uses to create a vivid description of a
summer day.
There are multiple examples of imagery throughout the poem.
Repetition
The beginning, of two last line, “So long…,” is an example of repetition.
-Assonance
- “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see
- So long lives this and this gives life to thee.”
“see” and “thee” are examples of assonance and end rhyme.

Figures of speech
Metaphor
The eye of heaven , an image created by the use of a metaphor.
Personification
“Nor shall Death brag” is an example of personification