Poem: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (Sonnet 18)
— By 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 often 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 ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Summary

In the first quatrain, the poet asks his friend that can he compare his friend or addressee with the summer’s day. Because summer’s day is more bright and charming than other days. But the poet as soon corrects himself saying that his friend is more lovely and more temperate than those of summer’s day. Because summer’s day has a lot of problems. The rough winds destroy the beautiful blooming buds of May. Though, the summer’s day is not permanent and is transitory.

In the second quatrain, the poet uses several images to prove the qualities of his friend. Because his friend is more beautiful than the summer’s day. The poet says that sometimes the summer day becomes very hot, and sometimes the dark cloud falls down from heaven. Here, the poet compares his friend with “the eye of heaven” which means sun. Then he says all the beautiful things of nature may be destroyed by men or by the law of nature but his friend’s beauty will never destroy by anybody or by naturally.

In the third quatrain, the poet assures his friend that his youth will never fade. His beauty and youth are everlasting. Even, death will never be able to defeat him. In the couplet, the poet immortalizes his friends by those lines,

“So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee”.

Here the poet gives the immortal idea of his friend through his poetic lines. The poet says that his friend will continue to live with the same charming beauty as long as human beings are on the surface of the earth.

Bangla Summary

কবি তার বন্ধুর সৌন্দর্যের প্রতি সম্মান জানাচ্ছেন। তিনি জানেন না কেমন করে তার সৌন্দর্য বর্ণনা করা যায়। গৃষ্মকাল এর সঙ্গে তিনি তার সৌন্দর্যের তুলনা করতে চান। কিন্তু, তিনি এই তুলনায় সন্তুষ্ট নন। গৃষ্মকাল এর সৌন্দর্য অপ্রতুল। কারণ গৃষ্মকাল তার সৌন্দর্যের কাছে অনুজ্জ্বল। মে মাসের মিষ্টি ফুলের কুঁড়িটা ঝরে যায় অসহনীয় বাতাসের উত্তাপে। গ্রীস্মের স্থায়িত্ব খুবই সংক্ষিপ্ত। গ্রীস্মে রৌদ্রের তেজ এতই প্রখর যে প্রচন্ড কষ্ট অনুভূত হয়। কখনো আকাশে মেঘের ঘনঘটা দেখা যায়। এভাবেই গৃষ্মকালীন পরিবর্তন বঞ্চিত করে তার প্রিয়পাত্রকে। কিন্তু তার বন্ধুর সৌন্দর্য কখনো মলিন হবে না। কবির বন্ধুর সৌন্দর্য কবিতা গাথায় বর্ণিত থাকার জন্য সে চিরজাগরুক হয়ে থাকবে সবার কাছে।

Rhyme Scheme

A rhyme scheme is the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse. Being a Shakespearean sonnet the rhyme scheme of the poem is abab cdcd efef gg.

“Day”=a
“temperate”=b
“may”=a
“date”=b
“shines”=c
“dimm’d”=d
“declines”=c
“untrimm’d”=d
“fade”=e
“ow’st”=f
“shade”=e
“grow’st”=f
“see”=g
“thee”=g

Here the last word of the 1st line is “day” and the last word of the 3rd line is “may”. Both have the same sound. So we can mark it “a”.

Then, the last word of the 2nd line is “temperate” and the last word of the 4th line is “date”. Both have the same sound. So we will mark it ” b”. Again, the last word of the 5th and 7th lines are “shines” and “declines”.Both words have the same sound. So we can mark it “c”. Further again the last words of the 6th and 8th lines are “dimm’d” and “untrimm’d”. Both have the same sound. So we can mark it ” d”.Then, the last words of the 9th and 11th lines are “fade” and “shade”. Both have the same sound. So we will mark it “e”.And the last words of the 10th and 12th lines are “ow’st” and “grow’st”. Both words have the same sound. So we can mark it “f”. And finally, the couplet ends with the same sound “see” and “thee”. So we can mark it “g”.

So at last we can find out that the rhyme scheme of the poem is abab cdcd efef gg.

Tone

The tone is a musical or vocal sound with reference to its pitch, quality, and strength. The tone of its opening quatrain is optimistic but equally frustrated by the constraints. The poet expresses a love that the lover seems to surpass. Thus, in the opening two lines, (‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?/Thou art more lovely and more temperate’) The mood is as much frustrated at the inability of nature to match the delight of the lover as it is optimistic.

Structure

Structurally the poem is a Shakespearian or English sonnet. It consists of three stanzas followed by a couplet. A sonnet is a lyric poem consisting of fourteen iambic pentameter lines intricate by a rhyme scheme. There are three kinds of sonnets: Shakespearian, Spenserian, and Italian or Petrarchan. The Shakespearian sonnet consists of fourteen iambic pentameter lines intricate by a rhyme scheme. It has three quatrains and is followed by a couplet. All these features have in the poem “sonnet 18”. So it’s a Shakespearian sonnet.

Theme

Theme is the central idea in a piece of writing. The whole body explains the theme. Love, friendship and immortality are the common themes of the Shakespearean sonnet. The theme of the poem is immortality. The poet wanted to immortalize his friend so the compares his friend to charming beautiful summer’s day. But he doesn’t compare his friend with the summer’s day because summer days have a lot of problems. It has rough winds that destroy the blooming buds, sometimes the sky becomes dim due to clouds and it is also transient. So he doesn’t compare his addressee with the summer’s day. At last, he immortalizes his friend through his poetic lines.

Authors Position

When an author writes to persuade, he/she will have his/her own position on the subject. The author’s position is an author’s opinion about the subject. It may be subjective or objective.

Subjective means where the writer can use his/her own feelings, emotion, and own choice.

Objective means where the writer can’t use his/her own feelings, emotions, and own choice.

Here the poet doesn’t show his own feelings, emotions, likes, dislikes, etc. He compares his unknown friend. He never discusses his friend. So it’s an objective poem.

Figures of Speech

Figures of Speech mean the use of ornamental elements in a piece of writing. Shakespeare uses several figures of speech to immortalize his addressee.

Apostrophe: Addressing someone or something.
Example: “Shall I compare thee”

Metaphor: Indirect comparison without using as or like.
Example: “a summer’s day”,” summer’s lease”,”eye of heaven”.

Epigram: A sharp and witty statement that is definitely a universal truth.
Example: “And often is his gold complexion dimm’d”.

Synecdoche: A part that indicates the whole thing or the whole thing indicates a part of the things.
Example: ” gold complexion “,” every fair”.

Personification: Give an imaginary life to a lifeless thing or character.
Example: “his” (the sun),” nor shall death brag”.

Caesura: A break of pause into a rhythmic progression.
Example:
“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”