The Role In The Core Structure Of A Sonnet

Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets are known worldwide. “Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s day?” is a renowned line from Shakespeare’s sonnet 18, a love poem. Like all Shakespearean sonnets, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” contains fourteen lines written in iambic pentameter with ten syllables each line and stresses on every second syllable. The stressed and unstressed syllables basically look like this:

“Shall I compare thee to a Summer”s day”

“Thou art more lovely and more temperate:”

The rhyme scheme is ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG. The lyrical structure is typical of Shakespeare, which distinguishes the Bard’s work from Petrarchan sonnets. Shakespeare’s sonnet 18”s flawless rhythm and rhyme scheme gives the song a perfect romantic undertone sung in the praise of the poet’s beloved.

The first four lines, the first quatrain, with the rhyme scheme, abab, sings to the beauty of a man who, in the poet’s eye, is “more lovely and more temperate” when “compared to a summer’s day” which, in nature, is short and sometimes rough (1-2). The personification of “summer’s day” and “rough wind” shaking “the darling buds of May” plays a vital role in giving life to the song and the beautiful and handsome man who lives in it (3).

The next four lines, the second quatrain, with the rhyme scheme, cdcd, gives the imagery of the sun, as “the eye of heaven” with a “gold complexion” which is very godlike, but can be “too hot” sometimes. On top of it all, even the “gold complexion” of  “the eye of heaven” will dim and lose its fairness with “nature’s changing course. (5-6)

The third quatrain, with the rhyme scheme efef emphasizes the beauty of the poet’s beloved being an “eternal sommer” that “shall not fade” “nor loose possession of that faire thou owest’”. (9-10) The poet also personifies “Death” who shall not be able to “brag thou wanderst in his shade” because the person’s beauty, instead of fading, will continue to shine in the “eternal lines” of the song. (11-12) This will continue to be sung “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see. So long lives this (ie this sonnet), and this gives life to thee (the poet’s beloved)”. (13-14) The poem ends with the couplet quote above. Shakespeare has the confidence that his sonnets will become immortal and this literary immortality also gives immortality to the beauty of the man. Without this sonnet, people will not understand the beauty.

The couplet does round up Shakespeare’s love for his beloved, which can live on to eternity. Shakespeare technique in his use of imagery, and figure of speech in the structure of this love sonnet is very successful. He does not use enjambment as every line ends with a punctuation. The repetition of the word “summer” develops the sonnet and the argument. (Hendiadys) Word choice is also important as it contributes to the poem’s rhythm. The love and beauty of “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” will definitely continue to grow with time as one of the best loved poems in Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets as well as in the history of English literature.