Jacob Levi

English 102
Professor Batty
9/25/17

Its All About Thee!

Shall I compare thee to a summers day (Sonnet 18), by William Shakespeare, initially

reads as a love poem addressing some unknown non-descript entity and alters into a medley of

figurative language centering around eternity, having little to do with the starry-eyed love of an

individual. This is a fourteen line sonnet where the rhyme scheme consists of an a-b-a-b, c-d-c-

d,-e-f-e-f, g-g, each line containing ten syllables utilizing iambic beats resulting in an iambic

pentameter rhythm followed by a rhyming couple in the last two lines. Typical of Shakespearean

sonnets, there is a change in mood midway. Initially, this seems to be a romantic sonnet where

the speaker is talking to his/her beloved, but that narrative becomes less likely as the poem

progresses. This sonnet is rich with metaphors, personification, imagery and more which paints a

scene that can be interpreted on many levels. Each time the sonnet is reread, one perplexing

question continuously arises. To whom is the speaker referring when he/ she addresses thee?

In other words, who is the speaker talking to?

The main metaphor for the entire poem exists in line one, where the speaker is

comparing thee to a summers day. Initially, this sounds like a love poem, but identity of

thee gets a bit fuzzy. Line two is more of a double meaning in the use of the term temperate.

This term may apply to ones personality implying even-temperedness. Temperate is also used

as a term to describe the weather, which plays well with the comparison to a summers day.
Lines three and four are wonderful examples of personification. Rough winds do shake

gives the winds an ability, shaking, that is generally a human characteristic. Further, the buds of

May are darling, and the summer cannot really have a legal contract such as a lease. Lines

five and six have more personification. The sun is described more eloquently by calling it the

eye of heaven, where eye is certainly a component of a living being. Further personification of

the sun continues with his gold complexion, another human trait. In line nine, Shakespeare

describes his much-loved thee of this poem through characteristics of nature by saying thy

eternal summer shall not fade. Line 10 is a bit tricky with the word owst which can be a

contraction for two old words, ownest and owest. It is unclear whether Shakespeare meant that

the beloveds loveliness is something he/she owns, or if the loveliness is something that was

borrowed and must be returned; both continuing with the lease metaphor in line four. Line

eleven personification shows that death can brag.

The speaker of the poem refers to himself/herself as I, and the subject of the poem as

thee. It sounds like a love poem in the second line when the speaker uses the words lovely and

more temperate. However, it is questionable, based on the iambic rhythm if the speaker values

the object of his admiration at all? He questions if he should compare thee to a summers day but

never waits for a response. He is complimentary in line two, but then goes on from line three

simply complaining. So, the question really becomes: Who is the speaker talking to? Would a

lover really tolerate this rant by being so quiet? Perhaps he is enamored with summer, and

nothing more. This however seems too simplistic, knowing that Shakespeare was a master writer

who loved twists in all his stories and would never go with something quite so linear.

Progressing through the sonnet, it becomes clearer that perhaps he is talking about a thing and

not a person at all. Perhaps summer is being compared to the sonnet that is read by people,
generation after generation. The sonnet itself, and even perhaps the writer, remain immortal

whenever his works are read.

William Shakespeare was an amazing playwright and poet, who wrote comedies,

tragedies and love stories, often including historical characters. Some of his best known plays

include Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, and Richard III (Goldstein). Born 1564 in

Stratford-upon-Avon, the Bard of Avon was known throughout the world for his works; but

his personal life, to this day, remains an enigma. Many historians have pieced various clues

together to shed light on his life. One very important indicator has been that his works seemed to

mirror both postulated and documented events of his life, which include church and court

records. William was the third child of Mary Arden and John Shakespeare, a leather merchant.

William married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582. He was 18 years old and Anne was 26

years old and three months pregnant. Susanna was born six months later on May 26, 1583. On

February 2, 1585 Hamnet and Judith, twins, were born. For several years after the twins were

born, there were no legal records of Williams life. Although there were several theories, none is

known for certain. It is known that after the twins were born, William moved to London and his

family remained in the country. In the early 1590s, records show that he became a managing

partner in the Lord Chamberlains Men, a London acting company. The name was changed to

the Kings Men in honor of the coronation of King James 1 in 1603 (Bevington, 153). By

1599, Shakespeare and his partners had the means to build their own theatre, known as the

Globe. With success of his plays and investments, Shakespeare became fairly wealthy. From

1590 to 1613 Shakespeare wrote 37 plays which were mostly histories, tragedies, comedies and

tragicomedies such as Julius Caesar and Richard II. After 1600, they were mostly tragedies and
tragicomedies such as King Lear and Macbeth (Bevington, 4). William Shakespeare passed

away at age 52 (Bevington, 35).

Jack Goldstein wrote: The reason that Shakespeare wrote his book of sonnets was

because an outbreak of the plague in Europe resulted in all of Londons theatres being closed for

two years, from 1592 to 1594. Without the demand for plays, Shakespeare turned his talents to

an alternative literary art form. (Goldstein). Shakespeare wrote many different sonnets, some

exploring love and some exploring various interpersonal relationships, while others spoke of

despair. As Shakespeare became successful with his theatre, some historians implied he became

somewhat arrogant. He had the remarkable opportunity to explore a variety of emotions and

situations through writing and producing his own works. As such, the likelihood of becoming

overly at-ease with each successful phase of his writing resulted in a fairly bloated ego. William

Baker wrote:

For instance, in sonnet 18 beginning, Shall I compare thee to a Summers day? utilizing

imagery drawn from nature, the rough winds, the darling buds of May, legal imagery

so common in Shakespeares work, summers lease hath all too short a date, he tells the

addressee the subject of the poem that he/she will live on as long as the poem does: Nor

shall Death brag thou wandrest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growst.

(Baker, 28)

Consequently, Shall I compare thee to a summers day (Sonnet 18) is not a love poem, or

a chat about the weather, or even a real question. It is rhetorical. Utilizing iambic pentameter,

Shakespeare emphasizes the word I in the first line, referring to the speaker who is likely the
writer of this sonnet, and deemphasizes the word thee because it is simply unimportant. So,

who is the speaker talking to? Well never truly know because it truly doesnt matter!
Work Cited

1. Baker, William. William Shakespeare. Continuum, 2009. Writers' Lives. EBSCOhost,

library.lavc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nl

ebk&AN=344305&site=eds-live.

2. Bevington, David M. Shakespeare and Biography. OUP Oxford, 2010. Oxford

Shakespeare Topics. EBSCOhost,

library.lavc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nl

ebk&AN=381042&site=eds-live.

3. Goldstein, Jack. 101 Amazing Facts about William Shakespeare. Andrews UK, 2014.

EBSCOhost,

library.lavc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nl

ebk& AN=760325&site=eds-live.

Addendum to work cited page

All page numbers are in reference to books from the Los Angeles Valley College e-

book reader.