What does the poet say about summer in the sonnet “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” How is the poet’s young friend different from a summer’s day?
William Shakespeare states that the beauty of summer is not consistent as the sun is sometimes too hot and sometimes dimmed by clouds. The rough winds which blow during summer lessen the beauty of the season. Thus the beauty of summer is very short-lived and is not flawless. The beauty of the poet’s young friend is constant, unlike a summer’s day. His beloved friend is more lovely and more temperate than a pleasant summer day. The inconsistent beauty of summer is contrasted by the eternal beauty of the poet’s adored friend. As long as the human race lives, this sonnet narrating the beauty of his beloved friend will remain to celebrate his beauty.
Discuss why Shakespeare has called his friend more temperate than the summer season.
Shakespeare metaphorically compares his friend to a bright summer day. But soon he discovers that his friend is more lovely and more temperate than a bright summer day. The beauty of a bright summer day is inconsistent and imperfect because the sun is sometimes too hot and sometimes dimmed by cloud. But the beauty of his beloved friend is eternal. The beauty of a summer’s day is often ruined by the rough winds which blow during this season. On the other hand, the beauty of his friend is flawless. The beauty of a summer day is short-lived whereas the beauty of the poet’s dear friend is not subjected to decay and is everlasting.
What do the rough winds do? What do you understand by the phrase ‘summer’s lease’? Mention the deficiencies of the summer season.
What type of poem is ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Who is the poet? Whom does the poet speak of? What does the poet say about the person spoken of?
What does summer stand for in Sonnet 18? What prompts the poet to remark ‘And every fair from fair sometime declines’?
In the opening stanza, how does the poet celebrate the superiority of the youth’s beauty through similes?
Explain how Shakespeare has logically concluded that death shall not be able to conquer the beauty of the youth.
How does Shakespeare compare the beauty of his friend to that of a summer’s day in Sonnet 18?
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 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’.
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