Sonnet 18- William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Throughout this poem there is an evident tone of adoration expressed towards the woman to which Shakespeare is writing this. The first section establishes the flaws within a summer’s day which goes on to be compared to the elegance and timeless beauty of the woman. Although some could separate this into separate and slightly shifting tones, moving from being critical and then into adoration, all of the critique was stated in a graceful manner, all with the purpose of making evident his adoration for the woman. Through the comparison of summer’s declining fervor and the woman’s never ending beauty and poise, the perception of speaker is one of awe and tenderness. Even within the slander of summer, he still references its beauty by recognizing "the darling buds of May," the "gold complexion," and the heat from heaven, which are all good qualities yet he overshadows them by the qualities of this woman that outlast those of summer. He holds her with the highest regard and even in his slander he is referencing all the unending beauty and fairness that she holds. Overall, this poem has a steady tone of admiration and affection for the elegance and timeless beauty of this woman.
