The tone of the Sonnet 18 is that of the romantic intimacy of a young man intrigued by a woman’s beauty. The poem features an affectionate mood portrayed by the poet throughout the poem. Interestingly, the author takes a different twist in the ending when he no longer compares the beauty to the summer, but rather to the immortality of his poems (Shakespeare 14). In the conclusion of the Sonnet 18, W.Shakespeare admits that ‘Every fair from fair sometime decline,’ he makes his mistress’s beauty an exception by claiming that her youthful nature will never fade (Shakespeare 7).

Stanzas 7-14 indicates the everlasting beauty to which he says cannot be claimed by anything, not even a natural calamity such as death. It doesn’t waiver in the eyes of the beholder like the clouds swallow the summer hence losing its beauty. Her beauty is constant and can neither be shaken by strong winds, nor can it become unpredictable like the hot sun.

The poet’s praises and awe are well expressed in these stanzas by revealing all the beautiful qualities seized by his mistress.

The stanzas give detailed answers to his rhetorical question posed at the beginning of the poem. It also does not last as long as his lover’s beauty would. Though summer appears to be beautiful, it is not constant and can be very disappointing if solely relied upon. Stanzas 1-6 give a solid reason as to why one can not compare his lover to summer. He goes on to state why his lover is better. Line-by-line analysis of Sonnet 18 shows that the first stanza acts as an eye-opener of the poet’s attempt to compare his lover with summer. The poet adopts a thematic structure technique to express to his lover’s beauty. The poem embeds an image of an undying and eternal kind of beauty as visualized by the poet. However, the air is cleared in the preceding stanzas that see the poet overcome by flamboyant feelings and admits that his lover is even lovelier than the summer itself (Shakespeare 2). The first stanza gives an assumption to the reader that the poet is not sure of what is more beautiful, a beautiful summer day, or his mistress. This love sonnet falls under the lyric genre, with the author expressing deep emotional feelings for his mistress throughout the poem. He envisions her as a beautiful creature and even wonders whether one can compare her beauty to any summer season. The first stanza, ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ opens the poem with an indication of a young man deeply in love (Shakespeare 1). The sonnet is a captivating love story of a young man fascinated by the beauty of his mistress and affectionately comparing her to nature. This essay analyzes Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18. Want to learn more about the themes, tone, and imagery in Sonnet 18? Read the literary analysis below! Sonnet 18: Introduction Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? The Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare is one the most known Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Sonnet 18 by william shakespeare