A Beauty That Surpasses Nature

1214 Words3 Pages

Beauty is very important in today’s society. Many people fear that they will lose their good looks as they age. They begin to wear make-up or even go to the extremes of plastic surgery. However, in William Shakespeare’s poem, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day,” Shakespeare plays on the idea of beauty that surpasses age and even death. Through the simple language, tones, and theme in Howard Moss’s poem, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day,” the meaning of Shakespeare’s poem is made more clear. William Shakespeare’s poem, “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” uses diction, personification, theme, and tone to illustrate the narrator’s feelings about the everlasting beauty of a significant other.
Shakespeare’s narrator has a tone of admiration and is very endearing. His tone is present throughout the poem in the way each line is set up and through the choice of words. The admiring tone is evident in the first two lines when he says “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate” (1-2). The sense of admiration continues throughout the poem, but the first two lines sets up the tone. The poem’s overall vibe is endearing. Through Shakespeare’s comparison of the person in the poem to a summer’s day, it is conveyed that he feels some type of affection towards this other person. The tone of the poem reveals that the overall poem is focusing on the narrator’s admiration and love for the person’s beauty. In Moss’s poem this inference about Shakespeare’s piece is reinforced through Moss’s narrator’s appreciative tone. Although Moss’s piece is less complex and serious than Shakespeare’s, the tone is still of the same nature. Moss is stating in layman’s terms that the beauty of the person is somet...

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...Moss’s poem the conclusion is less powerful, but he goes straight to the point by saying, “After you’re dead and gone, / In this poem you’ll live on” (lines 13-14). Moss’s poem holds the same deep feelings about this person’s beauty, but he states it in a less complex way.
With the use of personification, diction, tone, and theme, Shakespeare was able to construct a poem where the narrator was admirable of his significant others’ beauty. This interpretation of Shakespeare’s poem “Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer’s Day” was supported with the analysis of the tone, theme, and diction. In addition, Moss’s poem, “Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer’s Day” helped reinforce some of the conclusions made about the interpretation of the poem because of Moss’s use of simple language. Through this poem, Shakespeare has created the idea that beauty can live forever despite nature.

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