English Poetry Appreciation --Sonnet 18
1.Rhyme
The first 12 lines rhyme every other line and t he last two lines’end rhymes are the same, which forms the rhyme-scheme of abab, cdcd, efef, gg.
(Sonnet 18
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day /ei/ a
Thou art more lovely and more temperate: /eit/ b
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, /ei/ a
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date, /eit/ b
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines, /aiz/ c
And often is his gold complexion dimed: /imd/ d
And every fair form fair sometimes declines, /aiz/ c
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d: /imd/ d
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, /eid/ e
Nor lose possess ion of that fair thou ow’st: /əʊst/ f
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade, /eid/ e When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st. /əʊst / f
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, /iː/ g
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. /iː/ g)
2.Meter
Each line in this sonnet is in iambic pentameter which means each line has five feet, usually an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable.
For example, we can divide the first line into five independent feet as “Shall I / compare / thee to/ a sum / mer’s day” with accents on shall, com, thee, a, mer respectively.
(Sonnet 18
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Shall I/ compare/ thee to/ a sum/mer’s day
Thou art/ more love/ly and/ more tem/perate:
Rough winds/ do shake/ the dar/ling buds/ of May,
And sum/mer’s lease/ hath all/ too short/ a date:
Sometimes/ too hot/ the eye/ of hea/ven shines
And of/ten is/ his gold/ complexion dimm’d;
And eve/ry fair/ form fair/ sometimes/ declines,
By chance/ or na/tu re’s changing/ course un/trimm’d;
But thy/ eter/nal sum/mer shall/ not fade,
Nor lose/ posse/ssion of/ that fair/ thou ow’st;
Nor shall/ death brag/ thou wan/der’st in/ his shade.
When in/ eter/nal 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.)
3.The Rhetorical Devices
Simile and Rhetoric Question
Example: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day
Simile: Summer and “you”are not similar on the surface, but virtually they are the representatives of beauty.
Rhetoric Question: It is also a rhetorical question, that is, formally it’s a question. Readers don't need to answer because the answer is very clear.
Metaphor
Example: And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
The summer’s day is compared to a house, which is the thing we lend from the nature. Therefore, it’s period of use is limited, and it also insinuates the time that the duration of youth and beauty is limited.
