17 September 2019
William Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 18' weaves a skillful comparison between the beloved of the speaker and the season of summer. The sonnet is divided into three quatrains and a couplet. Shakespeare's first two quatrains use repetition and comparison to discover the imperfections of summer — its beauty is fickle and impermanent. The third quatrain, together with the final couplet, posit that the beloved is unaffected by the maladies which afflict summer. I argue that Shakespeare leads with the expectation of the use of summer to exemplify the beloved's beauty, then subverts the reader's expectation, instead using contrast to elevate the beloved, to the point that it is ludicrous that he be compared to anything earthly.
Shakespeare's use of "Shall" (1) as the first word of the poem immediately suggests to the reader that he is pondering about the extent of the beloved's beauty. He then considers if he should "compare thee to a summer's day" (1). A "summer's day" calls to mind images of beauty, nature and joy. To "compare thee" would be to put forth the hypothesis that the beauty of the beloved is equal or even greater than that of its object of comparison, "a summer's day". Without the use of "Shall" to turn the sentence into a question, there is an expectation by the reader of the poet to liken the beloved's positive qualities to those of summer's. Instead, the expectation is subverted as the speaker only considers if it is worthwhile to compare the two, greatly adding to the depth of the poem.
In response to this consideration, he immediately states that the beloved is "more lovely and more temperate" (2). This violent, immediate objection, as well as the repetition of "more", emphasises the speaker's firm belief that the beloved's "loveliness" is beyond any form of comparison. The reader now expects the speaker to prove the beloved's beauty. These two lines set up the premise of the rest of the poem: how the beloved's qualities transcend time, space, and Death itself, and why summer is unworthy of comparison.
In his description of summer, Shakespeare writes "Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, / And often is his gold complexion dimm'd" (5-6). The "eye of heaven" refers to the sun, a symbol of summer. The sun has "a gold complexion" (5). "gold" conjures up images of wealth and luxury. "complexion" likens the sun's exterior to a person's skin, guiding the reader to view the sun's beauty in human terms, such that a comparison with the beloved is easily drawn. But the celestial object's beauty is subject to change; It is untamed and wild, unlike the beloved, who is revealed earlier to be "temperate". Unlike the sun, which burns "Sometimes too hot", bringing to mind images of excess passion, the beloved's humors are in balance. His passion is moderate; It does not burn too strong nor too dim. Summer, as a product of nature, is wild. It is characteristically unpredictable and subject to constant change.
In the third quatrain, the qualities of the beloved are revealed in contrast. Summer has been shown to be ephemeral and fleeting in its beauty. On the other hand, Shakespeare writes that "in eternal lines to time thou growest" (13). "eternal" suggests that the qualities of the beloved are everlasting and unfading. In his description of summer, Shakespeare wrote that "every fair from fair sometimes declines" (7). Summer's beauty is sometimes diminished. In contrast, the beloved's beauty not only remains "eternal", but even increases with the passage of time. Shakespeare posits that the beloved's beauty is forever preserved in "eternal lines", which refers to the sonnets about him. "growest" suggests that as time passes and the sonnets' popularity increase, the beloved's beauty flourishes, far beyond the extent of summer.
From the beginning of 'Sonnet 18', Shakespeare asks if the beloved can be likened to "a summer's day". He leads with the expectation of using summer to amplify the beloved's beauty. This expectation is then subverted when summer is shown to be an unworthy object of comparison. Shakespeare contrasts the beloved's beauty against summer's proving his to be far greater.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. "Sonnet 18". HL1001 Introduction to Literature Course Reader AY2019-2020. Edited by Kevin Riordan, Nanyang Technological University, 2019.