How can Shakespeare say that his friend’s beauty will be eternal?

The poem celebrates the loveliness of the poet’s friend. It testifies to Shakespeare’s high idealism of love and his glorification of its triumph over time. The poet concludes that death will never be successful to take the poet’s friend to its dark realm. The cold, cruel death will not be able to claim his friend’s beauty. The poet’s eternal lines of verse will make him immortal which no ravage of time can ever take away. As long as human beings live and read poetry, this very sonnet, written in praise of his friend would continue to celebrate his beauty. Even if his beloved friend dies physically, this poem will give him eternal life.

How does Shakespeare compare the beauty of his friend to that of a summer’s day in Sonnet 18?

Shakespeare in his Sonnet 18 draws some arresting comparison between his friend and a summer’s day. He feels that his friend is more lovely and more temperate’ as sometimes strong summer winds threaten those new flower buds that pop up in the month of May. Whereas his friend seems to be having ‘eternal summer’ that ‘shall not fade’ which means that the beauty of his friend has an element of consistency. The poet states that everything beautiful ‘sometime declines’ but his friend will not “lose possession’ of his beauty against the ravages of time. The poet would immortalise his friend’s beauty in his verse.

How does Shakespeare immortalise his friend’s beauty?

Why does the poet think that a comparison between the beloved youth and summer would be inappropriate?

State the arguments in the octave and the sestet.

What images of summer do we find in the poem “Shall I Compare Thee to a summer’s day?”

Discuss the time versus love conflict as presented by Shakespeare in his poem, ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’.

Comment on Shakespeare’s use of imagery in Sonnet No. 18.

How has Shakespeare celebrated masculine beauty, in the poem, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

Comment on the last two lines of the sonnet.

“The theme of mutability is a well-marked aspect of the Shakespearean sonnets.” Discuss with reference to the Sonnet No. 18.

How does Shakespeare present the triumph of poetry over mortality in ‘Sonnet No. 18’?

Justify the title of the poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’.

Write down the substance of the poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’.

Write a short note on the central idea of the poem ‘The Poetry of Earth’.

‘A voice will run …’- Whose voice is referred to here? Where will the voice run? What is the significance of the voice?

“That is the Grasshopper”—What is referred to by ‘that’? What does the poet mean to say? Why does the poet use capital letter in Grasshopper?

“.. he takes the lead.” Who is ‘he’ here? When does ‘he’ take the lead? How?

“.. he has never done / With his delights’ – Who is ‘he’? What does ‘he’ do? What does the extract mean?

“He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.”-Who is ‘he’ here? Where does the rest? How does he enliven nature?