Memorizing Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare Shall I

Memorizing Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? This is one of the most famous lines of poetry ever written.

Shakespeare lived in England from 1564 -1616 in the Renaissance era. He was born during the long and prosperous reign of Queen Elizabeth I…

And died during the reign of King James I. The King James Bible was commissioned by James I during this time. It is still in use today. That’s why the language in this bible resembles the language of Shakespeare.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? thee (pronoun): informal for “you” (the word “you” used to be the formal pronoun, when using polite speech).

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. thou art: you are temperate (adj): mild, gentle

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, darling: tender, delicate

In Shakespeare’s England, May was considered the middle of summer!

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. hath (v): has And summer’s lease …. date means “and summer’s temporary stay is too short”

Scansion: Noun: the rhythm of a poem Verb: the act of determining the rhythm of a poem.

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.

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; the eye of heaven: a metaphor for the sun

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,

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, (up-inflect) (and everything beautiful eventually becomes less beautiful) By chance, or nature’s changing course, untrimmed; (up-inflect, pause) fair: beautiful sometime: in time untrimmed: not refreshed, not adjusted

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,

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,

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,

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 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; 9 But thy eternal summer shall not fade, (up-inflect) 10 Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st, (up-inflect) thy: your thou ow’st: you own that fair thou ows’t: the beauty that you own

Nor shall Death brag thou wand’rest in his shade, (up-inflect) When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st. (down-inflect) thou wand’rest: you wander thou grow’st: you grow Nor will Death be able to brag he has conquered you, because the eternal lines of this poem will carry you through all Time.

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. As long as human beings exist This poem will live, and keep your memory alive.

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.