The Beauty of the Beloved: Shakespeare's Sonnet 18

             In Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, the poet cleverly refers to the passing of time with images of nature and the seasons. He uses a summer's day as an image for how short-lived youth and love can be. The speaker initiates the poem with a rhetorical question: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" This question is comparing his beloved to the summertime of the year. It is during this time when the flowers are blooming, trees are full of leaves, the weather is warm, and it is often considered to be the most enjoyable time of the year. The writer, in the following lines, explains what mainly separates the young woman from the summer's day: she is "more lovely and more temperate"(line 2). He argues that the wind may spoil the beauty of summer, which is not always as welcoming as the woman. However, the speaker then gives the feeling that the summer months are often too short by saying, " And summer's lease hath too short a date" (line 4).
             The splendor of summer is affected by the intensity of the sunlight, and, as the seasons change, summer becomes less beautiful. In the third quatrain of the sonnet, the writer tells how the beloved differs from the summer in various respects. Her beauty will be one that lasts forever, "Thy eternal summer shall not fade" (line 9). She, unlike summer, will never deteriorate. He further asserts that his beloved will neither become less beautiful nor even die because she is immortalized through his poetry. The sonnet concludes with the couplet, "So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee". These last two lines further clarify the theme. The writer explains how the beloved's beauty will accomplish this everlasting life, unlike a summer. And her beauty will last forever because it is kept alive in this poem.
             The imagery throughout the sonnet is simple and attainable to the reader, which is a key factor in understanding the poem. The language is almost too...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
The Beauty of the Beloved: Shakespeare's Sonnet 18. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 09:16, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/79246.html