shakespeare sonnet 18 explanation

1.   Shall I compare ................summer's day.

      Thou art ...................temperate.

      Rough winds ................May.

      And summer's ...................date.

                                                           

Ans.  These lines have been taken from ‘Shall I compare thee’ written by William Shakespeare.  The poet expresses his deep faith in the immortality of his friend.  In a world where every object is ephemeral, his friend will outlive them all.

                        The poet waxes eloquent over his friend’s beauty that surpasses that of a summer’s day. He is categorically critical of the day which is ever-honoured by every body for its loveliness. The poet lists a catalogue of denunciations of the day’s glory in order to bring his friend’s beauty into bold relief. The poet emphasizes that his friend’s loveliness is much superior to that of a summer’s day. He is more even-tempered than the Summer Season. He is more attractive and impressive than it. Sometimes rough winds violently shake the tiny buds of May and the season lasts but for a short while with all its lovely elements which are short-lived. But the beauty of the poet’s friend is enduring and ever-lasting. It never fades away and it does withstand the ravages of time. So comparison between the friend’s beauty and that of a summer’s day should hardly be taken into consideration.

                        The poet hesitates to compare his friend to a summer’s day.  His virtues do outshine its.  The qualities it is endowed with, fall far short of his in majesticity and excellence.  No calamity can make his friend lose his everlasting youth and freshness.

2.   And eyery fair from .....................declines.

      By chance .......................untrimm'd.

                                                            

Ans. These lines have been taken from ‘Shall I compare thee’ written by William Shakespeare.  The poet here emphasizes the transitoriness of all living objects of Nature.        

           Every object of nature, however fair, is subject to decay. Nothing lasts for-ever. It is the law of Nature. Leaves and flowers along with every fair creature  are destined to die some day. Death spares none in the world. With a changing course of Nature everything declines. Every fair element of Nature loses its beauty in course of time. Its loveliness and charm can claim no permanence. Time with its ravages and the power of destructibility annihilates everything. So, the season of Summer that lasts but for a brief spell, soon falls a victim to the mighty rage of time that preys on its sweetness and sucks it dry. What is fair turns foul and faded being deprived of 'trimming'.

           In Course of time the charm of everything declines.  No beauty can exist for ever.  A sense of mortality haunts it and it surrenders to the clutches of destruction being ultimately shorn of all honour and variety.

3.   But thy eternal .......................fade.

      Nor lose ..........................ow'st.

                                                 

Ans.  These lines have been taken from ‘Shall I compare thee’ written by William Shakespeare. The poet here boldly affirms  the perpetual continuity of his friend’s summer despite the ravages wrecked by time.            

                The poet is so much confident about the everlastingness of his friend’s beauty that he boldly proclaims that his ‘eternal summer’ shall never fade. He is sure to continue forever his immortal glory which time can never eclipse or curb. His beauty will eternally shine beyond all earthly limitations and restrictions. His loveliness will be reigning supreme in the kingdom of wrecks and ravages. Like an undisputed monarch he will survive with an undying fame. The analogy between the glorious beauty of his friend and that of a summer’s day compels the poet to speak volumes of the former that knows no decay, no destruction. The imperishable beauty of his friend stands matchless in comparison to the evanescent and fleeting one of a day in summer.

                The poet’s friend is the fairest of all.  Nothing can steal away his summer nor defile the sublimity that his friend is possessed of.  His beauty is to continue eternally.

4.   So long as men ..........................can see.

      So long ...........................to thee.

                                                

Ans.  These lines have been taken from ‘Shall I compare thee’ written by William Shakespeare. The poet is so much eloquent in his praise of his friend that he goes to the extent of perpetuating his friend in the memory of man for ever.

                  The poet establishes his contention in a most convincing manner that his friend is deathless. He can never perish and he strongly asserts that his friend would survive as long as the human civilization exists. He will be made eternal through letters of gold and his place would be made so secure that no calamity of death could be able to topple him down. He will be the cynosure of all eyes that will keep wondering at his immortal status that the poet’s verse would lend him. There death would fail to claim his beauty against the enlivening effect of his verse and in this transitory universe where the ravages of time thwart man’s ambition and damage all beauteous aspects of nature, his friend will be shining forever. Thus, the poet will perpetuate his friend’s beauty through his poetic endeavour.

                  The poet says that his friend will never die.  Nothing can perish him.  He is destined to remain alive until the human civilization and society cease to exist.