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The Anatomy of a Shakespearean Sonnet - mouse over each part of the sonnet to learn more about its structure. Sonnet 18 by 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 dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, 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.

The Anatomy of a Shakespearean Sonnet - mouse over each part of the sonnet to learn more about its structure.

This is the first Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare quatrain. Note the Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: rhyme Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, scheme: And summer's lease hath all too short a date: ABAB. The Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, speaker is And often is his gold complexion dimmed, introducing the And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: topic, usually a But thy eternal summer shall not fade, metaphor, in Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, these lines. 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.

The Anatomy of a Shakespearean Sonnet - mouse over each part of the sonnet to learn more about its structure. Sonnet 18 by 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 dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, 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.

In the second quatrain, the rhyme scheme is CDCD. The speaker continues his comparison.

The Anatomy of a Shakespearean Sonnet - mouse over each part of the sonnet to learn more about its structure. Sonnet 18 by 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 dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, 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.

In the third quatrain, the rhyme scheme is EFEF. The comparison is further developed.

The Anatomy of a Shakespearean Sonnet - mouse over each part of the sonnet to learn more about its structure. Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare The final

lines are Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? called a Thou art more lovely and more temperate: couplet (or Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, the turn) and And summer's lease hath all too short a date: summarizes Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, or offers a And often is his gold complexion dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, new By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: perspective But thy eternal summer shall not fade, on the Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade, comparison. The rhyme When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st, So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, scheme is So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. GG.

The Anatomy of a Shakespearean Sonnet - mouse over each part of the sonnet to learn more about its structure.

Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare sonnets are numbered, and Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? are often Thou art more lovely and more temperate: referred to by Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, their first lines. And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime So Sonnettoo18hot the eye of heaven shines, And also often be is his gold complexion dimmed, can And every fair from fair sometime declines, referred to by By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: saying “Shall summer I But thy eternal shall not fade, compare thee Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, Nor death brag thou wand'rest in his shade, to a shall summer’s When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st, day?” So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

The Anatomy of a Shakespearean Sonnet - mouse over each part of the sonnet to learn more about its structure. Sonnet 18 by 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 dimmed, And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed: But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st, 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.

Sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, which means every other syllable is stressed (think: I AM a PIRate WITH a WOODen LEG!).