William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18

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

About The Author:-William Shakespeare is one of the greatest poets (and playwrights) of English Literature. Although, the world knows little of the personal life of this great man. Stevens has justly observed on this point :- "All that is known with any degree of certainty concerning Shakespeare is that he was born at Stratford upon Avon- married and bad children there- went to London,where he commenced actor, and wrote poems and plays- returned to Stratford,made his will, died and was buried."

William Shakespeare, the third child of John and Mary Shakespeare, was born on 23rd April,1564 in the little village of Stratford upon Avon in Warwickshire.His study was hampered because of the pecuniary difficulties of his family. He was sent to Stratford Grammar School but soon he joined his father's business in order to help the family. He was soon pressed into a hasty marriage with one Anne Hathaway, a woman eight years older than him. Shakespeare left his native land in 1587 to try his luck in London. What he did at first in the great city is yet the most obscure part of his career. There is a conjecture that he started his job as he looked after the horses of the spectators of a playhouse. Eventually, he entered in theatre with theatrical persons. He soon appeared as an actor on the stage.  Then, he wrote down several famous dramas. He became a famous playwright. But later , he came back in Stratford (1611) and died on 23rd April,1616.

ABOUT THE POEM:-
William Shakespeare's "Shall I Compare thee to a Summer's day?" is one of the greatest sonnets of  his work "Shakespeare's Sonnets". It is 18th of 154 sonnets. As sonnets 1 to 126 are considered as Masculine Friendship series, this sonnet is addressed to a beautiful youth (His friend MR. W H; this person may be Henry Wriothesley,Earl of Southampton or William Herbert,Earl of Pembroke.)
The sonnets of Shakespeare were first published by Thomas Thorpe in a volume entitled "Shakespeare's Sonnets". The name of the volume was recorded in the Stationer's Register on May 20,1609. The book was available for sale after some time. Here, in Sonnet 18 , Shakespeare introduces his friend's supreme beauty in comparison of summer's beauty. Written in iambic pentameter, this poem containing the rhyming scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. 

Sonnets 1 to 126- Masculine Friendship series.
Sonnets 127 to 152-Dark Lady series.
Sonnets 153 to 154- Venus series.

About Sonnet:- 

A short lyric poem, usually comprising fourteen rhyming lines of equal length: iambic pentameter in English, alexandrines in French, hendeca syllables in Italian. The rhyme scheme of the Sonnet follows two basic patterns:- 1. The Italian sonnet (also called the Petrarchan sonnet) comprises an 8 line 'octave' of two quatrains, rhymed abbaabba, followed by a 6 lines 'sestet' usually rhymed cdecde or cdcdcd. 

 2. The English sonnet (also called Shakespearean sonnet) comprises three quatrains and a final couplets, rhyming ababcdcdefefgg.

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.

Annotations:-and Notes
more temperate- even tempered
summer's lease- the fixed period of summer
the eye of heaven- the Sun
gold complexion- sun's ray which is golden
dimmed- grew pale
untrimmed- faded, deprived of trimming
ow'st-possess
brag- boast
grow'st- live perpetually
breathe-live
this- this Poem
thou/thee- archaic word of your and you respectively.

Sonnet 18 in simplified English:-
Lines 1-4:- I (the poet) shall not compare you (poet's friend) to a Summer's day. You(poet's friend) are lovelier and more temperate than summer. (On other hand) Rough winds shake the darling buds of May and summer has a existence of limited time.
Lines 5-8:- The eye of heaven (Sun) shines sometimes too hot and his golden complexion (sun's rays) often dimmed(by cloud). And every fair object, declines( lost it's beauty). Sometimes by chance or by nature's untrimmed changing course( unchanged rules of nature).
Lines 9-12:- But your(poet's friend) eternal summer (eternal beauty) shall not fade nor lose possession of that beauty you* own. Death shall not brag (boast) that you* wander in his shade ( death can not claim you),when you* grow to time in eternal lines(this poem).
Lines 13-14:- So long as men can breathe or eyes can see (as long as human beings alive), this (the poem)lives so long and gives you* life.

*poet's friend