Scribd
Upload
10 views5 pages

Copy of Sonnet 18-1-5

The document provides an analysis guide for William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, focusing on its literal meaning, figurative language, tone, and theme. It includes vocabulary definitions, rhyme scheme labeling, and prompts for deeper understanding of the poem's devices and effects. The guide encourages readers to explore the speaker's attitude and the poem's central message about love and immortality through art.

Uploaded by

angela.bakes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
10 views5 pages

Copy of Sonnet 18-1-5

The document provides an analysis guide for William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, focusing on its literal meaning, figurative language, tone, and theme. It includes vocabulary definitions, rhyme scheme labeling, and prompts for deeper understanding of the poem's devices and effects. The guide encourages readers to explore the speaker's attitude and the poem's central message about love and immortality through art.

Uploaded by

angela.bakes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Name:_______________________________ Period: ________

Sonnet 18 (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 summer's lease hath all too short a date:

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.


Name: __________________________________ Period: ____________

Sonnet 18 (Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?)


By William Shakespeare
Directions: Work to paraphrase the poem into its literal meaning, identify
the examples of figurative language and/or poetic devices, and determine
the tone of the poem and the poem’s theme.

How to analyze figurative language:


1. Identify and state the type of figurative language is being used.
(Simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, or alliteration)
2. Explain why it is an example of that device. If it is a
comparison, include both the tenor and the vehicle. The tenor is
the subject of the comparison, the vehicle is the image or idea that represents the subject.
3. Explain the idea the writer is expressing through the language. Don’t just define the term,
explain how and why it is used.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Lines 1-4 (Vocabulary): Define the following:

Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,


Lease:
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:

Label the rhyme scheme: Art (not the subject):

Line 1: Line 1:
Type of figurative language: Who is “thee”? What are two possible options?

Tenor: Vehicle:

Line 4: (Figurative Language) Whole Stanza:


Type of figurative language: Why do you think the speaker chose summer to
make the comparison?

Why is “summer’s lease” too short?


Name: __________________________________ Period: ____________

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, Lines 5-8 (Vocabulary): Define the following:
Complexion:
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;

And every fair from fair sometime declines, Dimm’d (or dimmed):

By chance, or nature's changing course,


Fair:
untrimm’d;

Label the rhyme scheme: Untrimm’d (or untrimmed):

Lines 5-6 (Figurative Language): Lines 6-7 (Figurative Language):


An anaphora is repetition of a word or phrase at
Type of figurative language: the beginning of successive clauses. Identify the
anaphora in these lines.

Effect:
What effect does it create?

Line 8: (Connotations) Line 8 (Figurative Language):


“Untrimm’d” is also a sailing term. Untrimmed Identify an example of alliteration in this line.
sails on a ship are those which have not been
adjusted to properly catch the wind. How does
this give “untrimm’d” an opposite meaning from
the obvious (made ugly by natural changes)?
What effect does it create?

What is the tone of the poem up to this point?


Name: __________________________________ Period: ____________

But thy eternal summer shall not fade Lines 9-12:


Where does the Volta occur? How do you know?
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,


How does the speaker’s mood change?
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st;

Label the rhyme scheme:

Line 10 (Connotations): Line 11: (Figurative Language)


Does the word “ow’st” mean owns or owes? What is the figurative language used?
Explain your opinion and the meaning of each in
context.

What is the effect of the device?

Lines 9-12: Line 12 (Figurative Language):


Notice that the word eternal appears twice in this Identify the metaphor in this line.
quatrain. Circle them above. Tenor: Vehicle:
What tone does the repetition of this word create?
Meaning:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, Lines 13-14 (Figurative Language):
Identify the anaphora.
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
What effect does it create?
Label the rhyme scheme:

Line 14 (Figurative Language): Line 14 (Figurative Language):


Identify the alliteration in this line. Identify the personification.

What effect does it create?


Name: __________________________________ Period: ____________

The poem overall


Who or what is the subject of this poem?

Who is the speaker of the poem? Remember, the speaker of the poem is not always the poet.

Who is the speaker speaking to (the audience) in the poem? How do you know?

Pick two tone adjectives to describe the speaker’s attitude towards the subject.

Identify the poem’s central theme. What is the purpose of the poem overall? What is Shakespeare
suggesting about life or love?

Line 11 contains a Biblical allusion to Psalm 23:4: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” How does this
information help shape the speaker’s purpose?

Do you think the speaker is right when he implies the poem keeps living as long as humans keep
breathing? Explain.

One a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, how strong of a love poem is this? Explain.

You might also like