It does not, like the traditional sonnets, narrate the pursuit of a god-like female beloved. Just like other sonnets of Shakespeare, this sonnet also deviates from the traditional sonnet form in regard to its theme. The first thirteen lines are divided into three quatrains, and the last two lines make a couplet. It is written in the form of quatrains and is composed of fourteen lines. This sonnet confirms this tradition of the English sonnet form. Many other poets like Sidney and Henry Howard followed the same pattern and anglicized it by introducing quatrains in it. Thomas Wyatt was the first English poet to introduce it to the English audience. When the renaissance reached England in its real sense in the sixteenth century, sonnet form also came along. Petrarch, an Italian poet and a philosopher, introduced this form for the first time in the fourteenth century in Italy. The wave of writing poetry in sonnet form reached England in the sixteenth century from Italy. However, he is going to use his poetry against this enemy and win immortality for his beloved by canonizing him in his poetry. The speaker reflects on how every worldly entity is mortal. The reason is that he is going to immortalize his beauty by describing it in his poetry.Īs the number of this sonnet is eighteenth, it is clear that it discusses the themes of mortality, the value of poetry, and the attainment of immortality. Moreover, every beautiful thing is doomed to fade except the speaker’s beloved. The speaker tells him that there are a few downsides to the beauty of summer, but his beauty is flawless.

This context specifies that the speaker is praising the beauty of a guy and comparing his beauty to the pleasant aspects of summer. This sonnet belongs to the first part of the sonnet collection and is, therefore, considered to be addressed to the beloved male.

The lady is usually referred to as the “dark lady.” These sonnets address the themes of greed, appetite, and sexual desires. These sonnets are addressed to some mysterious lady. The next portion consists of twenty-eight sonnets. Some of these sonnets directly persuade the guy to marry while the rest addresses general themes like mortality, the value of poetry, and the attainment of immortality. These sonnets are addressed to a male beloved. The first portion consists of the first 126 sonnets. On this basis, these sonnets are divided into two portions. This collection of sonnets is believed to be addressed to two different persons. These themes of these sonnets are usually love, beauty, time, and jealousy to mortality and infidelity. In this collection, there are a total of 154 sonnets. This sonnet is also referred to as “Sonnet 18.” It was written in the 1590s and was published in his collection of sonnets in 1609. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” is one of his most beautiful pieces of poetry. William Shakespeare was one of the most prominent playwrights and poets of the sixteenth century.

Sonnet 18 by william shakespeare