Sonnet 18

Sonnet 18: Overview

Overview

In order to answer an essay question on any poem, it is important to understand what it is about. This section includes:

• An overview of the poem

• A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining William Shakespeare’s intention and message

‘Sonnet 18’ overview

William Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 18’ argues for the power of love, and art such as poetry, to transcend the limits of time. The speaker raises a question about a loved one’s appearance, and concludes that true love lasts despite the passing of time or the fading of looks. 

‘Sonnet 18’ breakdown

Lines 1-2

Translation

• The poem begins with a question to an implied listener, a loved one, “thee”

• The speaker says that if they were to compare their loved one to a “summer’s day”, the comparison would be poor, because a “summer’s day” is not as “lovely” or pleasant 

Shakespeare’s intentions

• Shakespeare begins his sonnet in a traditionally romantic style

• The hyperbolic “more lovely and more temperate” resonates with typically sentimental romantic poetry that praises beauty and a calm nature  

Lines 3-6

Translation

• The speaker describes a “summer’s day” as less than ideal, explaining why their loved one is “more temperate”:

  • In “May”, heavy “winds” shake all the budding flowers from the trees

  • Summer is too short

  • Sometimes the sun (“eye of heaven”) is “too hot” and, at other times, the sun’s “gold” face is not bright, perhaps “dimmed” by cloud

Shakespeare’s intentions

• Shakespeare’s speaker acknowledges that the usual romantic descriptions are lacking and mostly invalid, which challenges sentimental notions of love:

  • For this speaker, his beloved is the height of beauty, rather than a summer’s day

Lines 7-8

Translation

• The speaker adds that everything that is “fair” or attractive loses its beauty 

• Sometimes one’s appearance “declines”  by bad luck, or simply the inevitable passing of time 

Shakespeare’s intentions

• Shakespeare’s sonnet attempts an accurate portrayal of beauty: all beautiful things, he suggests, are naturally temporary

Lines 9-12

Translation

• The speaker then says that their loved one is different:

  • Their “summer”, their pleasant nature, is “eternal”

  • They will never lose the “fair” (attractiveness) they own

  • They will never get weak or unattractive over time (“death” will not “brag” at them becoming frail and wrinkled with “eternal lines”)

Shakespeare’s intentions

• Shakespeare uses the metaphor of an “eternal summer” to describe their loved one as forever young and attractive in their eyes

• The poem advocates for a love that does not alter over time, or when beauty fades:

  • Shakespeare might also be suggesting that this poem will also live on

Lines 13-14

Translation

• The speaker concludes that as long as human beings “breathe” and can “see”, their argument remains true, like their love

• The poem, the speaker says, makes this true forever, and “gives life”, or immortalises, the listener

Shakespeare’s intentions

• Shakespeare’s sonnet ends on a rhyming couplet that sums up the ideas in the poem: the truth held within the poem, like the speaker’s love, will last forever

Sonnet 18: Writer's methods

Writer's methods

Although this section is organised into form, structure, and language, it is worth remembering that all of these are considered “writer’s methods” in the CIE Literature for English poetry mark scheme. With this in mind, consider the poet’s choice of form (the way the poem looks or the type of poem it is), its structure (especially how it ends: is it cyclical or resolved?) and, of course, the language used to create effect and, thus, meaning.  

By focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas rather than identifying poetic techniques or translating quotes, you will gain far more marks. That is why all the analysis below is arranged by theme and includes William Shakespeare’s intentions in terms of his choices of:

• Form

• Structure

• Language

Form

Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 18’ uses the traditional form of a 14-line sonnet to speak directly to a loved one. However, the poem offers an alternative perspective to romance as it takes the form of an argument.  

Structure

Shakespeare uses the disciplined structure of a sonnet to present a controlled speaker, one whose love is pure and eternal, not a temporary passion. 

Language 

Shakespeare describes love in terms of a season, “summer”, to introduce the transient nature of beauty and, thus, love should not be based on superficial appearance. 

Sonnet 18: Understanding the text

Understanding the text

All the questions in the CIE Literature for English exam encourage an informed, personal response, which means that you should develop a sound understanding of the poem’s themes, main ideas, settings, situations and events. This will help you to explore the writer’s intentions and methods. This section has been divided into the main theme that William Shakespeare explores in his poem ‘Sonnet 18’:

• Romantic love

Romantic love

• William Shakespeare wrote a collection of sonnets in the late sixteenth century: 

  • The sonnets often use natural imagery and the weather to show the impermanence of life, or to compare to the constancy of nature

• In ‘Sonnet 18’ Shakespeare’s “summer’s day” is presented as a weak comparison for their lover as it is unpredictable and short:

  • The poet later concludes that an “eternal summer” can be found in one’s personality or “temperament”

• ‘Sonnet 18’ alludes to humanist ideas rather than traditional notions of fated love:

  • Instead of being obsessive and in turmoil about love, individuals should practise self-control and assert their free will 

  • It concludes “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see/So long lives this”, which immortalises the poet’s words, and their love    

• Shakespearean sonnets are slightly different to the sonnets written by Italian poet Petrarch in the early part of the sixteenth century:

  • These early sonnets were written by aristocrats and tended to be about forbidden and lustful affairs, or beautiful and unavailable women 

• Shakespeare’s sonnets subvert traditional overly sentimental poetry and offer alternative perspectives on romantic love:

  • In this sonnet, he advocates for love that does not alter over time