Sonnet 18 诗歌赏析

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 posses sion 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/ture’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
3.1 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.
3.2 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.
3.3 Personification
Example: And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
Obviously the poet compares the sun to a man, so he depicts his complexion. (Complexion is usually used to describe someone.) 3.4 Hyperbole
Example: But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
According to the laws of nature, every beautiful thing will gradually lose their beauty, so how can the beauty of the person who the poet describes be eternal?
4.Theme
In the beginning quatrain, the poet compares his friend to a beautiful summer’s day in order to arouse readers’wonderful imagination. However, the poet realizes that the metaphor can’t express his high praise for his friend because summer will fade away though it’s beautiful. Then how to make the beauty of his friend eternal? The poet finally thinks of the poetry. He thinks that with the power of the poem, he can make the beauty of his friend immortal. That is to say, the beauty of his friend is immoral in that the poetry is eternal.
In a word, the poem expresses the two themes. For one thing, the poet highly praises the beauty of his friend, and for another thing,
the poet also eulogizes the poetry art’s beauty and immortality.。