Shall I compare thee to summer`s day?

Rena E . Ford

English 102-Section 805

April 4 , 2006

1 , Draft 1

Shakespeare 's Summers Day (Sonnet 18

William Shakespeare 's Sonnet 18 , Summers Day , is one of his most widely read pieces of writing . Filled with imagery , he immortalizes the subject of his poem with paradox and s unlike other Throughout his word choice and comparisons of his subject to the summer he is able to write a piece that glorifies his subject in comparison to a hot summer 's day . Through immortalizing his subject in written form

Shakespeare is also guaranteeing that his subject 's memory will last much longer than a season

In line one of this poem Shakespeare writes Shall I compare thee to a summer 's day ' At first glance , this line gives the impression that he is beginning to write about his subject in an unflattering manner Typically summer is not the season that a writer chooses to use in to express feelings of fondness spring seems the more apt choice . In his word choice , by selecting Shall I , beginning his poem in the harsh sound of an `S , it is implied that Shakespeare is not thrilled to be writing a piece about his subject . Had he selected an opening such as May I ' or another word choice that is less harsh sounding , the poem would begin in a softer tone , implying that this is a piece of adoring writing . Shall ' implies that this is a required act of writing rather than a voluntary one

However , in line two Thou art more lovely and more temperate Shakespeare redeems the qualities of his subject by expressing some of the more desirable attributes that they posses . He uses contrasting images in lines one and two in to validate his feelings of admiration towards his subject . By putting the harsh picture of a summer 's day , filled with heat and exhaustion , against the softer qualities of being lovely ' and temperate , the reader gets an even deeper feeling of how fond Shakespeare is of his subject . If Shakespeare had started out the first line in glowing admiration of his subject , the impact would not have been as great when reading the rest of the poem By putting the two contrasting images right next to each other , it displays to the reader that the subjects , in Shakespeare 's eyes , is deserving of only the finest of prose for eternity

Shakespeare uses lines three thru eight to further display how the summer season is not grand enough to describe his highly admired subject . By using the word choice of rough winds do shake ' and darling buds ' Shakespeare displays how summer is harsh compared to other seasons further displaying that comparing his subject to summer does not do justice to them . By having the summer wind shake and tear at innocent flower buds , Shakespeare is able to let the reader know that his subject is neither harsh nor rough . The contrasting images are what further display to...