Sonnet 18

Sonnet 18

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Author: Unknown

1.Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

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The poet asks if he should compare his friend's beauty to a beautiful summer day. Archaic words: Thee (you).

2.Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Illustration for: Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

The poet decides that his friend is actually more beautiful and more constant than summer. Archaic words: Thou art (you are), temperate (even-tempered or mild).

3.Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

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Summer is not perfect; sometimes strong winds blow away the pretty new flower buds. Archaic words: Darling (beloved or precious).

4.And summer's lease hath all too short a date:

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Summer lasts for such a short time; it's like a contract that ends too soon. Archaic words: Lease (allotted time), hath (has).

5.Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

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Sometimes the sun is uncomfortably hot and bright. Archaic words: Eye of heaven (the sun).

6.And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

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Other times, the sun is hidden behind dark clouds. Archaic words: Complexion (outward appearance/color), dimm'd (darkened).

7.And every fair from fair sometime declines,

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Every beautiful thing eventually loses its beauty over time. Archaic words: Fair (beautiful thing/beauty), declines (fades or decreases).

8.By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

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Beauty is lost either by accident or by the natural process of aging. Archaic words: Untrimm'd (stripped of beauty/spoiled).

9.But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

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However, the poet promises that his friend's beauty will never disappear. Archaic words: Thy (your), eternal (everlasting).

10.Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;

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His friend will never lose the beauty that he owns. Archaic words: Owest (own or possess).

11.Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

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Even death cannot claim his friend, because his memory will live on. Archaic words: Wander'st (walk/travel).

12.When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

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His friend's beauty is preserved forever in the lines of this poem. Archaic words: Eternal lines (the verses of the poem), growest (become part of).

13.So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

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As long as people are alive and able to read, this poem will continue to exist. Archaic words: None.

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

Illustration for: So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

This poem will live forever, and by reading it, people will always remember your beauty. Archaic words: This (this poem), thee (you).

15.About the Author and Poem

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William Shakespeare (1564–1616) was an English playwright and poet. Sonnet 18 is part of a sequence of 154 sonnets. It is celebrated for its beautiful language and its message that art can make human beauty immortal.

English adult Literary Classics Love & KindnessDreams Aspiration

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