Analyzing Sonnet 18

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“Shall I compare thee to …”
You can finish that sentence in your head can’t you? Whether you are a strong poetry enthusiast or not, you still probably know this famous poem. Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare is one of the most well-known poems of all time. Time and time again this piece of art has influenced contemporary pieces. Some examples of this would be; the song “Sonnet 18” by Pink Floyd, a novel titled The Darling Buds of May by H E Bates, and a famous essay “Rough Winds Do Shake” written by Maeve Landman. Now this doesn’t not include the endless, countless list of times when Sonnet 18 has been quoted throughout history, especially in today’s media such as Star Trek, Doctor Who, and many others. It is doubtless to say that Sonnet 18 by william shakespeare is one of the most famous and well-known poems, and for good reason. This poem truly is a beautiful piece of work. William Shakespeare utilizes many things to help enhance the reading experience. Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare draws the reader in through the use of several poetic techniques including rhyme and rhythm, personification, and metaphor.
To begin with, a Shakespearean sonnet, which Sonnet 18 is, by definition is, “a sonnet consisting of three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg (“Shakespearean”).” By knowing the definition you can now understand just how vital rhyme scheme and rhythm is in the poem. These elements are essential and form the base of the poem. Without these elements, the poem would just be known as “18” (a little humor for you). Sonnet 18 follows the strict rhyme and rhythm patterns of a Shakespearean poem. With the use of a rhyme scheme and iambic pentameter together, Shakespeare cr...

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...the reader’s or listener’s experience. Finally, the entire poem can be boiled down to one large metaphor between a summer’s day and whoever Shakespeare wrote the poem about, though the metaphor is incomplete due to the summer day failing in comparison. These are just a few of the techniques used in this poem, there are many more that make it great. William Shakespeare does an amazing job of drawing the reader in.

Works Cited

"Shakespearean Sonnet." Vocabulary.com. Vocabulary.com, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. .
"Shakespeare Sonnet 18 - Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day." Shakespeare-online.com. Amanda Mabillard, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. .
"Metaphor." Vocabulary.com. Vocabulary.com, n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. .

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