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SHALL COMPARE THEE TO A SUMMER DAY ?
by William
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564
– 1616) was an English poet, playwright,
and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and
the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called
England's national
poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply
"the Bard"). His extant works,
including collaborations, consist of
some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few
other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into
every major living
language and are performed more often than those of any other
playwright.
Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day? is one of the Fair Youth poems, addressed
to a mysterious male figure that scholars have been unable to pin down.
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| William Shakespeare |
Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?
by William Shakespeare
Shall i
compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more
lovely and more temperate,
Rough winds do
shake the darling buds of May,
And summers lease
hath all too short a date.
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,
An often of his
gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair
from fair sometimes declines.
By change or
nature changing course untrimmed.
But they eternal
summer shall not fade
Nor lose
possession on that fair thou oust
Nor shall
death drag thaw wander’st in this shade
When in external
lines to time thaw grows
So long as men can
breathe or eyes can see
As long as lives
this and this gives life to thee
Questions
1. What is the subject matter of the poem?
2. Identify the main theme of the poem
3.Comment the mood of the poet
4. Comment on the rhyme scheme.
5.What type of the poem is that?
2. Identify the main theme of the poem
3.Comment the mood of the poet
4. Comment on the rhyme scheme.
5.What type of the poem is that?
Answers
1.
Subject matter is love
The
subject matter of the poem is love where by the poet talks about his feelings
towards a woman, she is compared with a summer’s day, she is more lovely and
temperature with a summer’s day, she is more lovely and temperate. In the two
last lines (couplet) the poet says so long as men can breathe or eyes can see.
So long as men can breathe or
eyes can see meaning so long as life, goes on and many shall pass the woman
will never be compared with another.
2. The main theme of the
poem is LOVE
The poem is talking about love. The poet has love feelings towards a woman who
he describes as the most beautiful and lovely woman. He compares her to summers
day. And whatever happens, life goes in but she will always be the best.
3. The poet is in romantic mood as he expresses his
feeling towards a woman
4. Rhyme scheme
abab, cdcd, efef,gg
5. Spencerian sonnet
This sonnet combines the
Italian and the Shakespearean poem, it has three quatrains and a couplet but it
has linking rhymes among the quaint/trains. The Spenserian sonnet rhymes schema
is ababa bcbc ee e.g. however those sonnets are very rare.
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