Sonnet 18 | Shakespeare | question answer

Shall I Compare thee to a Summer's Day
William Shakespeare

Theme

The Theme of this sonnet is eternal beauty of the poet's friend. It is captured magically and embodied inthe sonnet. As long as people will live and keep reading it with appreciation, his friend will live.

Here some important questions are answered from this sonnet (Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?).

Question : “And every fair from fair sometimes declines” — From which poem is the line quoted? Who is the poet? Briefly explain the meaning of the quoted line. How does the poet promise to immortalize his friend's beauty?

Ans: The line mentioned above is quoted from the sonnet 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'

The name of the poet is William Shakespeare.

The line mentioned above describes how every beautiful object of nature diminishes with time. Since change is the Law of Nature, every beautiful thing is subjected to decay.

The poet will immortalise the beauty of his friend through his verse. As long as men can see and breathe, they will read this sonnet and remember his friend. Thus his dearest friend will live forever through this sonnet.

Question: “But the eternal summer shall nat fade.” — Who is the poet? Who is being referred to as ‘thy’? What is meant by “thy eternal summer”? How does the poet suggest that “thy eternal summer” shall never end?

Ans: The poet is William Shakespeare.

‘Thy' refers to the poet's beloved friend.

The phrase "thy eternal summer" means the immortal beauty of the poet's dear friend. 

The poet suggests that his friend's beauty shall be immortalized in his verse. Time cannot devour his verse and so his friend's beauty. His friend will be forever in human memory. As long as human race exists, his verse will be there. As long as there is breath in mankind, his poetry will live on. His friend will become one with time. His friend's beauty will live on through his poem as it will last as long as it can be read.

Question: What type of poem is ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?’ Who is the poet? Whom does the poet speak of? What does the poet say about the person spoken to?

Ans:The poet is William Shakespeare.

Here the poet speaks of his beloved friend.

The poet says that his friend's beauty is everlasting. It will neither diminish with time nor can death take it away as his friend's beauty will be immortalised in his poetry. As long as people will live and read this sonnet, his friend's beauty will live. He will live in his eternal lines.