Literary Analysis Of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18

Sonnet 18 attempts to distinguish that of Shakespeare’s beloved and a summer day by setting up a contract between the two by arguing that the person being described in this poem shall be immortalized by said poem. The contrast though seems to fall flat as the summer day that is being compared seems more eternal than that of the subject as though Shakespeare claims to be giving eternal life to his subject through this poem he is also giving eternal life to that of the summer day as in order to compare the person he is talking about to nature he has to write about nature. Line two’s use of of “temperate” can be seen as a quip as in this instance its use is that of two separate meanings. On the one hand it refers to the subject's composure as …show more content…
The first two lines open the poem with a sense of triumph as if the poet has found the key to immortality with his impressive rhyme as the “marble [and] gilded monuments” of past rulers will someday become weathered and nothing more than the ruins of rulers long forgotten if they have not already crumbled to dust. The subject of this poem however will be forever immortalized unlike the pale attempts of conquering …show more content…
The claim that “you shall shine more bright in these contents” in line three of the poem really brings home the image of a coffin, mausoleum or crypt to really dig in the imagery of an abandoned or haunted graveyard. Line five adds to the immortalizing of the subject matter through the image of power as the poet states that his rhyme will survive “Mars sword” and the the fiery blaze of war and like those commanding the battles of war and those wielding the swords will also be lost time just like the monumental graves of the rulers in line one. Though the poet furthers the idea that they will be forgotten or “die” by never giving name to any ruling monarch or commanding general when referencing what it is they have left behind as their “immortal