Introduction

The poem is Shakespeare’s 18th poem that was published in 1609, a time when he was very famous for his poetry and artistic works. It is one among the 154 short poems often referred to as sonnets, extensively read and probably one among the most famous poems. The poem is useful for teaching as it exhibits a perfect example of a sonnet. The poem addresses issues of love which is very familiar across boards. The fact that the poem talks about issues surrounding love is probably the reason why it is widely read as people try to analyze their relationships.

Summary and meaning of the poem

The poem starts with a question as to whether ‘thee’ can be compared to a summer day. ‘Thee’ in these case seems to describe the beloved one that speakers seem to treasure. The speaker of the poem appears to praise the one he loves by saying that his beloved is not only lovely but temperate as well. To justify his point of view as to why his love is incomparable, the speaker of the poem goes ahead and gives some reasons to validate summer less greatness. He points out that summer lasts for a short period and that it is a season when the sun is violently hot and that winds shake off the buds that had emerged during the spring season. He acknowledges that everything finally fades either by chance or by natural circumstances which are inevitable. He, however, insists that his beloved good qualities will last forever and not even death will manage to take his loved one. He concludes that as long as his poem exists, so will his beloved because that is where the precious lives. The verse means that the beloved one is very precious that nothing can be compared. He brushes off the thought of comparing his beloved one to the summer but considering the negative impacts that come with summer, and he concludes that even summer cannot be compared to his beloved one. The speaker idolizes his beloved as a significant thing in his life. He believes that is beloved dwells within the poem and as long as the poem lives, so will his beloved. Sonnet 18 expresses the theme of love even though it is not clear who the beloved is. The fact that that he only chose two adjectives that is “lovely” and “temperate to describe the lover makes it hard to make further conclusions about the beloved one. The last two stanzas of the poem, however, suggest strongly that if at all the poem is a love poem then it is referring to the poet. We are tempted to think that the speaker is talking about Shakespeare as the author of the poet in the sense that as long as his poetry works exist, so will he. One thing that stands out strongly though is the fact that the speakers think highly of the beloved.

Poem analysis

The poem has 14 lines of iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is a kind of metric line common in traditional poetry and drama. The term is used to describing rhythm that is established by words within a line. It has three quatrains that are proceeded by a couplet. It has a rhyming scheme of ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG. It reflects the rhetorical tradition of an Italian which typically talks of issues surrounding love. In the poem, Shakespeare seems to be inspired by the Italian sonnets as he switches from criticizing the summer to unfolding the immortality of his beloved

We realize that different styles have been used in the poem to try and make the poem interesting and well understood. Shakespeare has utilized symbolism, imagery and allegory in his writing which has helped make his work attractive. As much as it may seem like the speaker is praising the beloved, the reality is that the poet is more into shaping his image and has successfully done it using symbols and pictures. Personification and metaphor have been used to illustrate how short summer is when he suggests that the weather has leased it. The idea makes it look like the weather is the real owner while summer is only there on rent. The poet personifies death as the supervisor of the shade making it easy for an individual to figure out how death looks like. Shakespeare also utilizes the use of rhetorical questions in his poetic work. It sets down a platform for comparison. It is from his first line that he can come up with analogies that trigger us to read more about what he has to say. The rhetoric question makes us curious about whether or not it is fair to compare thee to summer. The use of irony has also been utilized in the poem. The speaker states that the beloved will live forever because the lover exists in the poem. When talking of eternity, the speaker says that the beloved will last forever because he is contained in the poem. We have been given the qualities of summer to indicate that it is short-lived and the lover is expected to outdo summer. This irony provokes readers to think more about what is being said or referred to in the poem. The literary devices used by the poet creates texture, music and interest to the poem. Repetition and assonance have been utilized adding quality and soundscape. Examples of these devices in the poem include hot/heaven, eyes/shines among many other cases. The theme of immortality and beauty is presented in the poem when the speaker refers to his beloved as eternal, whose temperance will never fade like that of summer. Since the poem describes the beauty of the beloved and the poem is immortal, so is beloved. We realize that the poet tries to emphasize on the beloved being beautiful and eternal. There are other things which are beautiful, but he again says that those things do not last and in one way or the other they find their way to extinction.

What the poem means for me

The poem is relevant to our societies because it talks of an issue of too much significance in communities and families. Relationships are essential in every culture and families. Even as an individual grows, he or she builds up strong bonds certain people more than others. The poem shows how important those we treasure in our lives might blind us. The phrase that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder is a famous phrase that the poem tries to emphasise. Love in most cases allows people to look at the positive side of their loved ones that the negative ones are always overlooked. Personally, when I was a child, I liked and treasured my parents so much. I believed that they had a solution to every problem. They had become my earthly gods and I never even for once felt like they were struggling to make ends meet. To me, my parents were my heroes, and no other person would convince me otherwise. The poem makes me reflect on my relationship with my parents, and I believe it applies to most people out there. The poet illustrates the fact that we are not in the world to stay forever, in one way or the other we shall perish. But if someone loves an individual, the memories of that person will never fade in their beloved’s minds and hearts as they will always have something to remind them of the departed one. With the good deeds of an individual, his or her actions and shared activities will still be something that will leave forever. The poem implies that where there is love, not even death will reign. We all know how death is unfair, it never excuses itself, and when it calls, a person has no choice but to respond, people are sometimes emotional because of the loss. They usually feel like it is the end of that person. The poem, however, gives us hope that as long as there is something to remind us of an individual. There is nothing to worry about as the person’s presence will always be felt.

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