Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's day?

Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day (Sonnet 18)

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William Shakespeare

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.

The Poet's beloved

Summary: One of William Shakespeare's most well-known sonnets is the poem "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" It's sometimes referred to as Sonnet 18. The speaker's beloved, who is lauded for beauty and grace, is the subject of the poem. After considering whether to compare his sweetheart to a summer day, the speaker concludes that she is more beautiful and temperate than summer.He contrasts these flaws with his beloved’s eternal summer, which will never fade or die. He claims that his beloved’s beauty will be preserved in his eternal lines, meaning his poetry, which will give life to his beloved as long as people can read or breathe. The poem is a celebration of the power of love and art to transcend time and death.

The Summer Day

• he speaker wonders if he should compare his beloved to a summer’s day
• He decides that his beloved is more lovely and more temperate than summer
• He lists some of the flaws of summer, such as rough winds, short duration, too much heat, and fading brightness
• He contrasts these flaws with his beloved’s eternal summer, which will never fade or die
• He claims that his beloved’s beauty will be preserved in his eternal lines, meaning his poetry
• He says that his poetry will give life to his beloved as long as people can read or breathe
• The poem is a celebration of the power of love and art to transcend time and death