William Shakespeare's "Sonnet #18", "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

Essay by JOne2NineJunior High, 8th grade March 2006

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In William Shakespeare's "Sonnet #18", he compares his feelings towards nature to his beloved. Shakespeare talks about the beauty of a summer day and how it is beautiful to him. He has strong feelings towards the summer's never ending beauty and compares it his love for one particular person.

Shakespeare believes that summer is "...more lovely and more temperate.." than any other time of the year. He compares his beloved to a summer's day by simply saying, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" He explains how he feels about the summer by his descriptive feelings shown in his writing. Shakespeare compares his beloved to the "...eye of heaven..." He expresses his love is eternal and never changing to that of "...nature's changing course untrimmed. But thy eternal summer shall not fade..."

Shakespeare feels that "...summer's lease hath all too short a date.." Like his feelings of his beloved the "...eternal

summer shall not fade, nor lose possession of that fair thou owest." Shakespeare does not want his feelings for the summer or his beloved to ever end. He remarks that "death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st." Shakespeare is saying here that like winter tries to end the beauty of a summer's day, other interfering object will try to end his feelings of his beloved, but instead of ending his love, it will make it only grow stronger. Shakespeare feels that "so long as men can breathe, or eyes can see..." his love for his beloved for forever be eternal, and will never die.