Sonnet 18

by William Shakespeare

"Sonnet 18" is one of the best-known of the 154 sonnets written by the English playwright and poet William Shakespeare.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Shakespeare, Literature, Romance, Fiction, Read For School

2 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 29, 2011

About the author

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the ascension of King James VI and I of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around 1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious beliefs, and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him were written by others.
Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminge and Henry Condell, two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, that hailed Shakespeare with the now famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time".

Reviews

[جهاد محمد · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Arghavan-紫荆 · Rating 5 out of 5]

شعر رو قبلا خونده‌ بودم و بنظرم زیبا بود ولی نه در حدی که بخوام چند باره بخونمش یا حفظش کنم، دیروز وقتی برای بار چندم داشتم نومدلند رو می‌دیدم، توی سکانسی که فِرن داشت این شعرو میخوند احساس کردم عمیق‌تر از همیشه حسش کردم، یچیزی رو توی قلبم لرزوند...

[Rouh || رُوح · Rating 5 out of 5]

And every fair from fair sometimes declines,

Shakespeare's dead. Shakespeare's beloved's dead. And "THIS" is the "Eternal" living oath of them! Now I knew why it is the most famous one out of 154 sonnet! How gorgeously magical that hit hard to the core meaning of love, the worth of writing, How words lives! I'm obsessed of this sonnet!

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

The way he had compared his beloved to the summer days, explaining how blessed those days are, where to remark she is more beautiful that it itself! Then resolute that comparing his beloved to nature is no use, it will end someday, it will die one day. He realised that his beloved must be compared to something immortal. His words! William Shakespeare's words are immortal.

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

[imts · Rating 4 out of 5]

"But thy eternal summer shall not fade..."

So technically speaking, I knew about this sonnet a long time ago (and even had the first two lines memorized from seeing/hearing them everywhere), but I never actually read the whole thing through until today. I rather liked it, to be honest. This from the person who isn't much fond of either Shakepeare or poetry in general, by the way.

[T S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am kinda obsessed with this sonnet.

[Fatimah · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Yasmine]

this made me want to poke my eyes out.

thanks school for ruining my reading career with this sonnet.

[Flarne]

It's a poem that raises the flaws of a dazzling entity loved by all (a summer's day) in order to better prove to its audience the superiority of the main human subject.

Metaphorically, it is simplistic. The underlying theme itself is simplistic. I have nothing further to say about it.

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite arguably the greatest love poem in the English language, so of course it comes from William Shakespeare.

[violet ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (a)
Thou art more lovely and more temperate: (b)
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, (a)
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date; (b)
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, (c)
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d; (d)
And every fair from fair sometime declines, (c)
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d; (d)
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, (e)
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st; (f)
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade, (e)
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st: (f)
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, (g)
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. (g)”

[K. Anna Kraft · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely poem, but I found that that it fell a bit in my esteem after reading through all of William Shakespeare's sonnets and seeing where it fits in the context of the narrator urging a young person who does not want kids to suck it up and have them for the sake of sharing his or her fine looks with all of humanity. "When eternal lines to time thou grow'st" has different connotations in light of the earlier seventeen sonnets, sadly.

I have arranged my takeaway thoughts into a haiku:

"The lines that please most,
I find dwell on your pages,
'Til time else moves me."

[Darshini Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0 ⭐️

One of my ALL TIME favourite poems!!

I love how this sonnet compares the girl to a summer’s day. It does a wonderful job at capturing those moments that seem to be frozen in time.

It’s so intimate, personal and beautiful.

In the future, I definitely want to be proposed with this poem!!

[Noor Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully written.

[Abeer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shall i compare thee to a summer's day?🌿

This is the poem that i study now👏🏻

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually really pretty, so much respect for Shakespeare being able to write in iambic pentameter.

[gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

First read from my English Comp class! I’ll never complain about reading some Shakespeare, this poem will always be so touching.

[Read with nana (Taylor version⋆｡ ﾟ) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sorry my TBR LIST but this MASTERPIECE takes my soul away....

[Maggie Gould · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a beautiful sonnet. i wish someone would compare me to a summer's day

[Mennah · Rating 3 out of 5]

And every fair from fair sometimes declines
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest

وما من جميل يظل جميلا
فشيمة كل البرايا الفناء
ولكن صيفك ذا لن يغيب
ولن تفقدي فيه نور الجمال

*بترشيح من صديقتي دينا💕

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh the "darling buds of May"
..

Sonnet 18: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
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.

[Rasha El-Ghitani · Rating 2 out of 5]

The power of Shakespeare's poem to defy time and last forever, carrying the beauty of the beloved down to future generation. Sonnet 18

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Possibly Shakespeare's most well-known Sonnnet, what scholars number as the 18th, is a romantic one that is perplexing in its fame due to Shakespeare's subject being another man. 154 sonnets are known to be written by the bard, of which 126 belong to the saga of 'Fair Youth' which is characterized by the subject being an attractive young man whom Shakespeare develops a deep affection for, but this relationship becomes strained and complicated with the introduction of another character in later sonnets. I hope to read all of Shakespeare's sonnets, but having read this one independently, as well as its fame, I wanted to review this sonnet on it own. It's certainly a beautiful sonnet and one that I appreciate for its sincere expression of queer love.

[Amelia Bujar · Rating 3 out of 5]

FULL REVIEW ON MY WEBSITE
https://thebookcornerchronicles.com/2...

This sonnet was another pretty average sonnet written by William Shakespeare.

This sonnet was interesting and enjoyable as well, but still it didn’t speak to me so much as I wished it would.

The writing style here was pretty okay but I was expecting something more from William Shakespeare.

[Ami · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the greatest English poems I have ever read; I could have felt the summer in the bottom of my heart.

This part was the most beautiful part of Sonnet in my opinion.

Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest 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.

[Lubat · Rating 3 out of 5]

The use of Irony metaphor an Imagery Shakespeare has done in his sonnet number 18 is magnificent for a reader, how he starts the sonnet by using a metaphor and then ends the couplets with an anaphora . Honestly my favourite part in the Irony of this poem is how Shakespeare isn't describing the young man's beauty eternal but his description in the sonnet as eternal.

[Lou Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can we normalise using this poem instead of roses are red, please and thank you? I mean that would probably make this one overused but it would be sweet. I love a good poem. A well wrote sonnet. But this would've been nicer to that tale as old as time:

Fellas, sod your roses are red: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

[Aman · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Shall I compare thee to a Summer's Day " is perhaps one of the best known lines in the history of poetry still i prefer Shakespeare when he is contemplating and addressing issues deeper than beauty.

[Alireza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shakespeare’s sonnet is a timeless celebration of beauty and virtue. Its elegance and sincerity remind us that genuine admiration and thoughtful words can make something eternal. A quiet, profound reflection on love and time.

[✨Sunny🌙 · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautiful!

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lovely poem by Shakespeare. Summer does not compare to his love, summer is over too quickly but she is eternal. Because it is so famous it does not have any wow factor.