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Interpreting Sonnet 18

Shakespeare's *Sonnet 18* compares the beauty of the subject to a summer's day, asserting that the subject is more lovely and gentle. The poem emphasizes the transience of nature's beauty, contrasting it with the eternal beauty that will be preserved through poetry. Ultimately, the poem promises that as long as people read it, the subject's beauty will live on forever.

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10 views2 pages

Interpreting Sonnet 18

Shakespeare's *Sonnet 18* compares the beauty of the subject to a summer's day, asserting that the subject is more lovely and gentle. The poem emphasizes the transience of nature's beauty, contrasting it with the eternal beauty that will be preserved through poetry. Ultimately, the poem promises that as long as people read it, the subject's beauty will live on forever.

Uploaded by

Nick
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Interpreting Sonnet 18

Shakespeare's *Sonnet 18*, often titled *"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"*, is one of
his most famous poems, celebrating the enduring beauty of the subject through poetry. Here's a
line-by-line interpretation in prose:

**1. "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?"**

Should I compare you to a beautiful summer day?

**2. "Thou art more lovely and more temperate:"**

You are more beautiful and more gentle than a summer day.

**3. "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,"**

Strong winds often disturb the delicate flowers that bloom in May.

**4. "And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:"**

Summer is temporary and doesn’t last very long.

**5. "Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,"**

Sometimes the sun shines too intensely and becomes unpleasant.

**6. "And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;"**

And often clouds cover the sun, dulling its golden brightness.

**7. "And every fair from fair sometime declines,"**

Everything beautiful eventually fades or loses its perfection.


**8. "By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;"**

Either by accident or the natural passage of time, beauty is diminished.

**9. "But thy eternal summer shall not fade,"**

But your beauty will never fade or grow old.

**10. "Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;"**

Nor will you lose the beauty that you rightfully possess.

**11. "Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,"**

Death will never be able to claim you or take you into its darkness.

**12. "When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:"**

Because you will live on forever in these immortal verses.

**13. "So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,"**

As long as people are alive and can read these words,

**14. "So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."**

This poem will endure, and through it, you will live on forever.

In summary, Shakespeare assures the subject of the poem that their beauty will be
immortalized through his poetry, outlasting the fleeting and imperfect beauty of nature.

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