“And every fair from fair sometime declines”-From which poem is the line quoted? Who is the poet? Briefly explain the meaning of the quoted line. How does the poet promise to immortalize his friend’s beauty?
The line mentioned above is quoted from the sonnet ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
The name of the poet is William Shakespeare. The line mentioned above describes how every beautiful object of nature diminishes with time. Since change is the Law of Nature therefore every beautiful thing is subjected to decay. The poet will immortalize the beauty of his friend through his verse. As long as love for poetry remains, people will read this sonnet and remember his friend. Thus his dearest friend will live forever through this sonnet.
“By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed.”- What makes Shakespeare mention ‘nature’s changing course’? Discuss.
According to the Law of Nature, which Shakespeare abides by, every beautiful thing eventually loses its grace. No element of nature is consistent. Things lose their trimmings, their charm and then fade away. To show his friend’s timeless beauty, Shakespeare brings up the angle of nature’s changing course. It is predestined that every mortal would lose its loveliness either due to misfortune or by the natural process of decay. Shakespeare mentions the lines quotes above to portray that only his fortunate friend will continue to have a place in this world through his sonnet.
“But thy eternal summer shall not fade / Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;” Whose ‘eternal summer’ is being referred to here? What does ‘eternal summer’ mean? What conclusion does the poet draw at the end of the poem?
“Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade, / When in eternal lines to time thou grow’ st,”—Who is the poet? Who is the ‘thou’ here? What shall death not be able to brag about and why?
“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to three.”-From where have the lines been taken? How does the speaker immortalise his friend?
“… and this gives life to thee.”-What does this refer to? Who is referred to by ‘thee’? How does this’ give life?
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?
Discuss why Shakespeare has called his friend more temperate than the summer season.
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.
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