CLASS NOTES – ENG 230: Shakespeare and the Art of the Sonnet Date:
October 23 Topic: William Shakespeare – Sonnet 18 (“Shall I compare thee
to a summer’s day?”)
I. Introduction to Shakespeare’s Sonnets - Shakespeare wrote 154
sonnets, primarily between 1590 and 1609. - Themes often include love,
beauty, time, mortality, and the power of poetry. - Sonnet 18 is among
the most famous, often interpreted as a celebration of immortal beauty
through art.
II. Overview of Sonnet 18
- The poem compares the beloved to a summer’s day, arguing that the
beloved’s beauty surpasses nature’s fleeting charm.
- The central theme: art (specifically poetry) can grant immortality
that nature and time cannot.
III. Structure and Form
- Shakespearean sonnet: 14 lines, iambic pentameter, rhyme scheme ABAB
CDCD EFEF GG.
- Divided into three quatrains and a final rhymed couplet.
- Logical progression: comparison → imperfection of summer →
permanence through verse.
IV. Key Themes
1. Beauty and Immortality
- Physical beauty fades, but poetry preserves it forever.
2. The Power of Art
- The poet’s writing defies time, ensuring the subject’s eternal
presence.
3. Nature vs. Human Creation
- Nature’s beauty is transient and imperfect; human creativity
offers permanence.
4. Time and Decay
- “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May” implies natural
impermanence.
V. Stanza-by-Stanza Analysis - Quatrain 1: Establishes comparison; the
beloved is “more lovely and more temperate.” - Quatrain 2: Highlights
imperfections of summer—heat, storms, and short duration. - Quatrain 3:
Shifts focus to time; “thy eternal summer shall not fade.” The poet’s
verse ensures immortality. - Couplet: Concludes that as long as humans
live and read poetry, the beloved’s beauty will live on—“So long lives
this, and this gives life to thee.”
VI. Poetic Devices
- Metaphor: Comparing the beloved to a summer’s day.
- Personification: Death is personified as something that cannot
“brag” about taking the beloved.
- Alliteration: “Fair from fair,” “summer’s lease,” enhances
musicality.
- Imagery: Vivid natural imagery contrasts with eternal art.
VII. Tone and Mood
- Tone: Admiring, confident, reverent.
- Mood: Romantic yet contemplative; celebrates permanence amid
transience.
VIII. Historical and Literary Context
- Written during the English Renaissance, a period obsessed with
legacy and art’s ability to defy mortality.
- The poem reflects Renaissance humanism—belief in the power of human
expression to achieve immortality.
IX. Famous Quote
- “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, / So long lives this,
and this gives life to thee.”
X. Questions for Discussion 1. Is the poem sincere praise or
self-referential boasting about poetic skill? 2. How does Shakespeare
use nature to contrast with art? 3. In what ways does this sonnet embody
Renaissance values?
XI. Homework / Reading
- Write a short analysis (1 paragraph) on how Sonnet 18 connects
beauty, art, and immortality.
- Read Sonnet 73 (“That time of year thou mayst in me behold”) for
further exploration of time and decay.
