Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

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Recommended: Critical analysis of sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare SONNET 18 William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 is one of one hundred fifty four poems of fourteen lines written in Iambic Pentameter. These sonnets exclusively employ the rhyme scheme, which has come to be called the Shakespearean Sonnet. The sonnets are composed of an octet and sestet and typically progress through three quatrains to a concluding couplet. It also contains figurative language and different poetic devices used to create unique effects in his sonnets. Shakespeare's sonnets consist of words constructed in a certain manner or form, thoughts, emotion and poetic devices. One way to interpret the sonnet is to think of "thee" that Shakespeare is referring to as a person. Following that line of thought the sonnet could read that Shakespeare is in love with someone who is consistently beautiful. He tries to compare this person to summer but summer is not as beautiful or constant. This person in Shakespeare's eyes will never grow old and ugly and not even Death can say that his person's end is near. In line 1, he starts the poem with a question. He asks if he should compare the person to a summer's day but ends up not doing so realizing that the person is superior. In the following 7 lines of this sonnet, he begins to show the differences between the person and a summer's day. He explains that the person's characteristics is moderate and comfortable and has favorable qualities in line 2. "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May," (line 3) means that the rough winds of the summer can destroy the buds of the flowers and his particular person has no such trait. In the forth line of the sonnet, Shakespeare justifies how summer is too short and how his lover's beauty does not end like this specific season does. In the next two lines, lines 5 and 6, the superb poet interpret the summer's temperature. He explains how the summer can be extremely hot and uncomfortable. He also describes how the sun can be dulled due to the covering of clouds. It can obscure or shadow the earth, unlike the shining beauty of his lover. Although Sonnet 18 is an extended metaphor, line 7 has a literal meaning that explains itself: "And every fair from fair sometime declines," With fair meaning beautiful, he is saying that everything that is beautiful must come to an end and that all beauty fades except the one of his lover.

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