Shall i compare thee to a summer's day?

One of the most well-known playwrights and poets of the sixteenth century was William Shakespeare. He produced numerous well-known plays and sonnets. One of his most lovely poems is "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" "Sonnet 18" is another name for this sonnet. It was written in the 1590s and included in his sonnet collection, which was published in 1609. There are 154 sonnets in total in this book. These sonnets typically have themes of love, beauty, time, jealousy, mortality, and infidelity.

It is thought that these sonnets are addressed to two different people. These sonnets are split into two sections as a result. The first 126 sonnets make up the first section. These sonnets are directed at a cherished man who is a man. While the rest of the sonnets discuss more broad issues like mortality, the importance of poetry, and achieving immortality, some of them directly convince the guy to get married. The following section is made up of twenty-eight sonnets. These sonnets are addressed to an unidentified woman. Typically, the lady is referred to as "the dark lady." The topics of greed, gluttony, and sexual cravings are all addressed in these sonnets.

This sonnet is thought to be addressed to the beloved male because it is from the first section of the sonnet collection. This context makes it clear that the speaker is complimenting a guy's appearance and likening it to the enjoyable qualities of summer. The speaker tells him that while summer beauty has certain drawbacks, he has faultless beauty. Furthermore, everything that is beautiful—aside from the speaker's beloved—is destined to disappear. He intends to immortalize his beauty by portraying it in his poems, which is the cause. As 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. The speaker reflects on how every worldly entity is mortal. However, he is going to use his poetry against this enemy and win immortality for his beloved by canonizing him in his poetry.

Poet: William Shakespeare
Published: 1609