"Shall I compare Thee to a Summer Day Sonnet 18 " William Shakespeare Questions and answers

 Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer Day  ? 

by William Shakespeare 

Broad Questions And answers

1  But thy eternal summer shall not fade ." _Who is being referred to as "thy"?What is mean by ' eternal summer '?Why shall not ' thy eternal fade ?  1+1+4=6

Ans: Shakespeare's dearest friend and patron is being referred to as 'thy'.

 'Eternal summer ' means ageless beauty of the poet's dearest friend. 

The poet,  William Shakespeare,  is conscious of the fact that all livings are subject to death and decay .So, by means of poetry,  the poet glorifies the beauty  of his dearest friend and establishes it on the lap of literature with an ever - lasting foundation. The poet confirms the deathless existence of his friend through his immortal verses,which overcome the mighty clutches of time .Hence ,his eternal summer shall not fade.

2. How does Shakespeare compare the beauty of his friend to that of a summer's day in Sonnet 18 ?   6

Ans : In sonnet 18 , Shakespeare wants to compare the beauty of his dear friend to a golden day of summer. While comparing, he says that his friend is more lovely and more temperate than the beauty of a summer's day. Summer is short -lived, and therefore the beauty of a summer's day is not constant. Rough winds can shake darling buds from the trees. Sometimes the sun is too hot , and sometimes it goes behind the clouds. And finally the beauty of summer fades away with the change of time. But the youth and beauty of his friend shall never fade as by writing the sonnet about him he will immortalize him in the lines of his sonnet. 

3."And every fair from fair  sometimes "_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? 1+1+2+2=6 

Ans. The line has been taken from Shakespeare's Sonnet No.18,'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? '.

# The poet is William Shakespeare. 

According to the poet, beauty is transient.Every beautiful object or being will eventually experience decline or degeneration by chance or by the law of natural process of decay. Likewise,the beauty of the poet's friend will also diminish with time .

The poet promises that the bewitching beauty of his friend will be eternalized through the perpetual lines of his poetry. Art is immortal and hence ,whenever someone reads this poem, his friend will be remembered and thus live forever.

4.Describe the disadvantages of the sonnet "Shall I compare Thee to a Summer's Day ? 

Ans: Shakespeare is  quite conscious about  the destruction pace of  time. He  knew that renders beauty short-lived and youth transitory. In his Sonnet 18 the poet compares the youth to a summer's day  .But he realises that  his friend is more lovely and temperate than the summer day .At the same time Shakespeare rightly points out the imperfection of earthly objects .Though a summer day is beautiful and charming yet its beauty and charm do not last long. They  are transient. Every mortal object loses beauty and loveliness either in compliance  with the law of natural decay or by misfortune or chance.But amidst this constant process of change the beauty of his beautiful beloved young  friend would remain unchanged defying the pace of time The poet firmly holds that love will stand against the wrecks of time. 

 5.How does Shakespeare establish  the triumph of verse  over time and mutability sonnet 18  ?

Answer. The central theme  of the  sonnet  " Shall I  compare thee to a summer's day ? " is heard  in the concluding  complet of the sonnet:

" so long as men can breathe or eyes can see ,

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

Art has the  to perpetuate love  in a  mortal world . In the sonnet,  the poet admits  that  a summer's day is  no doubt,  lovely  .At the same,  he asserts that  his friend's beauty is lovelier  and more  lasting  .After all , natural beauty is subjected to changes and decay .But the friend's  beauty,  when represented in the poet's verses has no change,  no decay . Indeed,  love triumphs over death through  the great creation of art .This is the central theme of the sonnet. 

 

 

 

. The poem. .

Shall I Compare thee to a summer's day 

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.

Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines'

And often is his gold complexion dimmed;

And every fair from sometime declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed. 

But thy eternal summer  shall not fade 

Nor lose possession of  that fair theu ow'st;

North shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st, 

 

SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO A SUMMER 'S DAY ? 

 SHORT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. What kind of a poem is ' shall I compare thee to a summer 's day ? '

Ans: "Shall I compare thee to a  summer's day ?" is a Shakespearean love sonnet.

2. ,What does the '  the eye of heaven ' refer to here ?

Ans:  In sonnet 18 ' the eye of heaven ' refers to the sun.

3. What will make the beauty of poet's friend eternal? 

Answer : Eternal poetry will make the beauty of the poet's friend eternal. 

4."And summer's lease hath all too short a date " What is meant he by 'summer's lease '

Answer :By' summer's lease ' a short span given by Nature is meant.

5."So long lives this " What is referred to by the word 'this '?

Answer : The word 'this' refers to Shakespeare 's sonnet No .18

6.What does Shakespeare compare his friend to?

Answer :Shakespeare compares his friend to a summer's day. 

7.Who harms the flowers of summer?

Answer :Rough winds harm the flowers of summer. 

8.What is the complexion of summer ? 

Answer :  The complexion of summer is golden. 

9.Where  will the poet's friend grow? 

Answer :The poet 's friend will grow in the eternal lines of his sonnet.