Sonnet 18 Analysis Flashcards

Full Poem

• "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" initiates an elaborate metaphor exploring beauty.
• The poem argues that the subject surpasses summer in beauty and temperance.
• Shakespeare uses natural imagery to contrast ephemeral summer with enduring beauty.

Opening Rhetorical Question

• Presents a rhetorical question to introduce uncertainty and emphasize admiration.
• Initially appears as a conventional praise of beauty, revealing deeper emotions.
• Suggests Shakespeare’s struggle to find the right imagery to encapsulate his admiration.

Praise of Beauty

• "Thou art more lovely and more temperate" indicates the subject's beauty is constant and reliable.
• The rhetorical question serves to highlight inadequacy in comparing summer to this beauty.
• Tone reflects confidence and deep admiration, enhanced by the soft rhythm of iambic pentameter.

Comparison with Summer

• "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May" critiques the variability of summer.
• Suggests that summer can be tumultuous, unlike the subject, who remains delightful.
• Metaphorically depicts "darling buds" as young lovers facing challenges denoted by "rough winds."

Critique of Summer's Shortness

• "And summer's lease hath all too short a date" points out summer's fleeting nature.
• Legal terminology emphasizes the temporary beauty of summer compared to enduring youth.
• Implies that while summer is limited, the subject's beauty is everlasting.

Inconsistency of Summer

• "Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines" critiques summer's inconsistent beauty.
• Summer's extremes in temperature and cloud cover are contrasted with the subject’s consistent beauty.
• The sun’s imperfections illustrate that the subject remains unspoiled and continuously beautiful.

The Fate of All Beauty

• "And every fair from fair sometime declines" acknowledges that all beauty is transient.
• Suggests beauty is vulnerable to time, illness, and misfortune, creating an underlying tension.
• This line foreshadows Shakespeare’s deeper reflections on mortality and beauty.

Eternal Beauty

• "But thy eternal summer shall not fade" reasserts the subject’s uniqueness against the fate of beauty.
• The shift in tone with "but" emphasizes the exceptionality of the subject’s beauty.
• Shakespeare employs the summer metaphor again, reinforcing the idea of lasting beauty immortalized in poetry.

Heroic Lines

• "So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see" ties the subject's beauty to the endurance of the poem itself.
• Final couplet underscores the power of poetry to preserve beauty beyond physical existence.
• The lasting impact of the sonnet immortalizes the subject, transcending time.