The Sonnets of William Shakespeare
Sonnet 18
Rhyme Scheme Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? A Thou art more lovely and more temperate* : B Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, A And Summer's lease hath all too short a date; B 4 Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines, C And often is his gold complexion dimmed; D And every fair from fair sometime declines, C By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed*. D 8 But thy eternal summer shall not fade E Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest* ; F Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade E When in eternal lines to time thou growest-- F 12 So long as men can breath, or eyes can see, G So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. G
VOCABULARY
temperate-- moderate, free from extremes
untrimmed-- trimmed, or cut, of its beauty
owest--- ownest
QUESTIONS
- Shakespeare uses an extended metaphor in this poem. To what does he compare his lover? Which of the two does the poet consider more lovely? Why?
- Interpret the last rhyming couplet. What does the word "this" refer to? How will "this" continue to "give life" to his lover?
- How is nature personified in the poem? What human traits does Shakespeare give to nature?
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