The first seventeen sonnets are thought to be Shakespeare addressing a young man and telling him to go make some babies. You decide. So how come Sonnet 18 is probably the most easily recognizable poem in the English language? We tend to idealize love as that feeling where you care about someone else even more than you do about yourself; you would do anything for them. We also like to think of the artist as offering up his life and his work for the beautification and betterment of society.
Definitely check it out. Cartoon of Shakes quoting Sonnet 55 Check out this quote and how well it works with Sonnet Perhaps only someone of genius could claim to have such literary powers, strong enough to preserve the beauty of a lover beyond even death. Note the use of the verb shall and the different tones it brings to different lines.
In the first line, it refers to the uncertainty the speaker feels. In line nine, there is a sense of some kind of definite promise, while line eleven conveys the idea of a command for death to remain silent. The word beauty does not appear in this sonnet.
Both summer and fair are used instead. Thou , thee and thy are used throughout and refer directly to the lover—the fair youth. The words and, nor and so long serve to repeat and reinforce the poem's ideas. It's important to be aware that not every line of every one of Shakespeare's sonnets is written in pure iambic pentameter as is assumed by many a supposed authority.
There may be metrical variations, but the form of "Sonnet 18" is that of a classic English or Shakespearean sonnet—three quatrains four-line stanzas rounded off with a rhyming couplet the final two lines , adding up to 14 lines in total.
Certain lines contain trochees, spondees and possibly anapaests. Why is this an important issue? Well, the metre helps dictate the rhythm of a line and also how it should be read. Take the first line for example:. There's no doubting that this is a question, so the stress would normally fall on the first word, Shall. Say it quietly to yourself, and you'll find the natural thing to do is place a little more emphasis on that opening word because it is a question being asked.
If the emphasis was on the second word, I , the sense would be lost. So the first foot is no longer an iamb but a trochee—an inverted iamb. Let's take a look:. The line now comprises one trochee followed by four iambs. But there is also an alternative analysis of this first line that focuses on the mild caesura pause after thee and scans an amphibrach and an anapaest in a tetrameter line. Take another look:.
Here we have an interesting mix; the stress is still on the opening word in the first foot. The second foot now comprises three syllables—non-stressed, stressed and non-stressed—making it an amphibrach. The third foot is an anapaest, and the fourth a lonely iamb.
There are four feet, so the line is in tetrameter. Both scans are valid because of the flexible way in which English can be read and certain words only partially stressed.
When I read this opening line, the second version seems more natural because of that faint pause after the word thee. It just doesn't ring true. Try it and find out for yourself. Again, in line three, the iambic pentameter rhythm is altered by the use of a spondee two stressed single-syllable words at the start :. The stress is on the first syllable, after which the iambic pattern continues to the end. The poem opens with the immortal line "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Although there is some debate about the correct ordering of the texts, the first sonnets are thematically interlinked and demonstrate a progressive narrative.
They tell of a romantic affair that becomes more passionate and intense with each sonnet. Sonnet 18 touches on a few simple themes:. In this way, Shakespeare suggests that love is an even more powerful force than nature. Like many other sonnets, Sonnet 18 contains a volta , or turn, where the subject matter changes and the speaker shifts from describing the subject's beauty to describing what will happen after the youth eventually grows old and dies.
Sonnet 18 is an English or Elizabethan sonnet, meaning it contains 14 lines, including three quatrains and a couplet, and is written in iambic pentameter. The poem follows the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg.
Like many sonnets of the era, the poem takes the form of a direct address to an unnamed subject. The volta occurs at the beginning of the third quatrain, where the poet turns his attention to the future—"But thy eternal summer shall not fade. The key literary device in the poem is metaphor, which Shakespeare references directly in the opening line.
However, instead of using it traditionally—comparing the subject to a summer's day—Shakespeare draws attention to all the ways in which the comparison is inadequate. Little is known about the composition of Shakespeare's sonnets and how much of the material in them is autobiographical.
Scholars have long speculated about the identity of the young man who is the subject of the first sonnets, but they have yet to find any conclusive answers. Sonnet 18 contains several of Shakespeare's most famous lines. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.
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