Analysis of Sonnet 18: 1st Quartet

Sonnet 18 is the most famous of Shakespeare’s love poems. In the story of Shakespeare’s sonnets, the main character addresses this message to the beautiful youth, with whom he shares a special love. Whether love is platonic or sexual has been debated over the years, however the romantic and loving nature of this sonnet cannot be debated. The writer begins by asking: “Will I compare you to a summer day?”, And compares the beauty, youth and vitality of beautiful youth with that of a summer day. The writer also says that the beautiful youth is more beautiful and more temperate than a summer day, possibly saying that the beautiful youth is more calm, kind and gentle.

But the last two lines of this quatrain say that summer is too short, and they begin to question the good looks of young blond people, will they last forever?

2nd quatrain

In this quatrain, negative thoughts and worries begin to fill the writer’s head. He begins by continuing to think that summer lasts very little. You can feel a rather pensive and doubtful frame of mind when you talk about summer being too hot and at other times too cold – the unpleasant extremes of summer. So even though the beautiful young man is charming, sometimes the beautiful young man can also be angry, and he can also be harsh. Then he begins to question nature, “… all the beautiful of the beautiful at some point decline”, even the beautiful and beautiful things, such as beautiful youth, will lose their beauty in the face of the “changing course of nature.”

Third quatrain

But a new sense of vigor seems to have taken hold of the writer at the beginning of this quatrain, as he firmly says, “Your eternal summer will not fade away.” It says that the beauty and vitality of beautiful youth will not fade. It says that you will not lose your youth or the beauty that you possess, and that death will not claim you as its own. The writer could be saying that the inner beauty of the beautiful youth will not fade, and there is certainly an element in that with these poetic words, but further the writer is also saying with the words “with eternal lines” that the beauty of the beautiful youth is immortalized in the words of this sonnet.

Final verse with rhyme

The last rhyming couplet of any Shakespearean sonnet, this reinforces the earlier claim of the writers. That as long as there are people on this earth to read these words, the spirit and beauty of beautiful youth will endure in this poem.

Here’s Shakespeare’s love poem Sonnet 18. I’ve even broken this poem into quartets for you.

1st quartet

Will I compare you to a summer day?

You are more beautiful and warmer;

Strong winds shake the dear May buds,

And the summer lease is too short a date;

2nd quatrain

At some point too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And her golden complexion is often toned down;

And every fair of the fair at some point declines,

By chance or the changing course of nature without trimming;

Third quatrain

But your eternal summer won’t fade

Do not lose the possession of the beautiful that you have;

Nor will death boast that you wander in its shadow,

When in eternal lines until time you grow:

Final verse with rhyme

As long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

Live this, and this gives you life.

If you want to learn more about Shakespeare’s love poems, or indeed anything that has to do with romance and Shakespeare, check out some of my other posts on Shakespeare’s love poems.