A Close Reading Of Sonnet 18 - 1280 Words

A Close Reading of â€Å"Sonnet 18† â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?† (â€Å"Sonnet 18†) is one of Shakespeare’s most famous poems. It is the model English, or Shakespearean sonnet: it contains three quatrains and a finishing couplet.. The poem follows the traditional English sonnet form by having the octet introduce an idea or set up the poem, and the sestet beginning with a volta, or turn in perspective. In the octet of Sonnet 18, Shakespeare poses the question â€Å"Shall I compare the to a summer’s day† and basically begins to describe all the bad qualities of summer. He says it’s too windy, too short, too hot, and too cloudy. Eventually fall is going to come and take away all the beauty because of the changes nature brings. In the sestet, however, his tone changes as he begins to talk about his beloved’s â€Å"eternal summer† (Shakespeare line 9). This is where the turn takes place in the poem. Un like the summer, their beauty will never fade. Not even death can stop their beauty for, according to Shakespeare, as long as people can read this poem, his lover’s beauty will continue to live. Shakespeare believes that his art is more powerful than any season and that in it beauty can be permanent. In my close reading of â€Å"Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day†, the first feature I focused on were keywords. The first word that stood out the most â€Å"temperate.† The word temperate has multiple meanings. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the word â€Å"temperate† can mean â€Å"Of persons,Show MoreRelatedAnalyzing Sonnet 18 961 Words   |  4 Pagesstill probably know this famous poem. Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare is one of the most well-known poems of all time. Time and time again this piece of art has influenced contemporary pieces. Some examples of this would be; the song â€Å"Sonnet 18† by Pink Floyd, a novel title d The Darling Buds of May by H E Bates, and a famous essay â€Å"Rough Winds Do Shake† written by Maeve Landman. Now this doesn’t not include the endless, countless list of times when Sonnet 18 has been quoted throughout history, especiallyRead MoreThe Sonnet By Sir Thomas Wyatt1167 Words   |  5 Pagesthere are many different types of groups within poetry. There are various types of poetry -- which include the sonnet. The sonnet was introduced by an Italian poet named Francesco Petrarch (1304-1374) who introduced the creation in the 13th century (Applebee 295). He wrote over 300 love sonnets, a great number of them were dedicated to a woman named Laura. Centuries passed in which sonnets were not as popular; his work was later rediscovered by two lovelorn poets. Their names were Sir Thomas WyattRead MoreThe English Sonnet768 Words   |  4 PagesThe English Sonnet The sonnet is the most important, as it is the most perfect, of all modern lyric forms (Reed, 119). Although the sonnet made a relatively late appearance in English literature, it has become a staple in the lyrical expression of private emotions. The sonnet has been used by every poet from Petrarch, who created the original Italian sonnet, to Shakespeare, who reinvented the sonnets form. Because the Italian, or Petrarchan, sonnet is the original form, it is the legitimateRead MorePortrayal of Love in Sonnet 18, The Sun Rising and To His Coy Mistress1021 Words   |  5 PagesPortrayal of Love in Sonnet 18, The Sun Rising and To His Coy Mistress The three poems studied for this, all contain material describing love for a woman. Among this theme are other underlying messages being projected to attentive readers but the theme which will most probably be initially remarked upon or noticed by someone reading these poems for the first time will be their dedication to the female form. Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare begins with what seems like an odeRead MoreComparing And Contrasting Two Sonnets1141 Words   |  5 Pages Comparing and Contrasting Two Sonnets ‘Sonnet 116’ by William Shakespeare and ‘What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, And Where, And Why† by Edna St. Vincent Millay are both sonnets that discuss companionship and a glimpse of each poet’s experiences. In ‘Sonnet 116’, Shakespeare illustrates how capability is weakened by its metaphysical stereotype and ideals such as, love, while on the contrary, in ‘What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, And Where, And Why† Millay feeds on the chaos between the idealRead MoreHow the Poem Ozymandias Highlights the Fundamental Issue in the Film Watchmen1255 Words   |  6 PagesShakespearean sonnet. First, this poem is in pentameter and not the normal iambic pentameter found in Shakespearean derived sonnets. The majority of sonnets contain five iambs in a line which begins with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. However this poem refuses to conform to such a pattern. For example in the start of line twelve of the po em, the â€Å"No† in the word â€Å"Nothing† is stressed rather than unstressed. Secondly, the poem has an unusual rhyme scheme. Most sonnets are dividedRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Astrophil And Stella 1692 Words   |  7 Pagesunfulfilling, while also sharing the lessons he has learned from this. Astrophil and Stella is a poem centered around love that can not be fully attained. Sidney’s personal love life and his public political life could be seen as influences of the sonnets as they both have aspects of being unfulfilled, but Sidney’s view of poetry might seem to contradict the idea that Astrophil is a reflection of himself. The complexity of people can oftentimes be felt in their writing, but when analyzing this sameRead MoreEssay on The Sonnet Genre Combining with Figurative Language1904 Words   |  8 PagesThe Sonnet Genre Combining with Figurative Language Compare how the conventions of the sonnet genre combine with figurative language to create meaning in at least two texts. Originating in Italy, the sonnet was established by Petrarch in the 14th century as a major form of love poetry, and came to be adopted in England in the 16th century (Oxford Literary terms). Overtime there have been different types of sonnets written, for example the Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet, the English (Shakespearean)Read MoreComparing The Opening Shots in Baz Luhrmann and Franco Zeffirellis Versions of Romeo and Juliet1551 Words   |  7 PagesZeffirelli is trying to recreate the setting of Romeo and Juliet as closely as possible to how Shakespeare imagined it. This approach has more appeal to an older audience. The prologue, which is a 14-line sonnet, is present in both versions of Romeo and Juliet. The sonnet is typical of Shakespeares works and is brought forward to the audience in the form of a news flash on a TV screen in Luhrmanns version and a slide show of eighteenth century photographs in ZeffirellisRead MorePoectic Analsis on Sonnet 18 Shakespeare2545 Words   |  11 PagesAppendix Sonnet 18 Shakespeare 1 Shall I compare thee to a summers day? 2 Thou art more lovely and more temperate: 3 Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, 4 And summers lease hath all too short a date: 5 Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, 6 And often is his gold complexion dimmed, 7 And every fair from fair sometime declines, 8 By chance, or natures changing course untrimmed: 9 But thy eternal summer shall not fade, 10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest,