Shall I Compare Thee

Question 1

Sun

Answer 1

Sometimes too hot the eye of Heaven shines

And often is his gold complexion dimm’d

Question 2

Everything will die/go downhill

Answer 2

And every fair from fair sometime declines

By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimm’d

Question 3

You won’t though

Answer 3

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st

Question 4

Death won’t get you bc…

Answer 4

Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade

When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st

Question 5

You’re forever

Answer 5

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee

Question 6

Structure of the poem

Answer 6

Typical of a Shakespearean sonnet - 14 lines split into 3 quatrains + rhyming couplet at end
Iambic pentameter used throughout
Each line quite contained, punctuation at end of almost every one

Question 7

A.k.a.

Answer 7

Sonnet 18

Question 8

First quatrain

Answer 8

• opens by asking should he compare lover to summer’s day, expect that he’ll say she’s as lovely as it
• goes on to say she’s even better (first 2 quatrains)
• begins to list flaws of summer

Question 9

Second quatrain

Answer 9

• continues listing flaws of summer’s day

- says everything beautiful stops being beautiful/dies at some point - either by chance or through nature

Question 10

Third quatrain

Answer 10

• says his lover’s beauty won’t fade - they’ll have an eternal summer
• says death will never brag of having captured lover, as they’re immortalised in his verses

Question 11

Rhyming couplet

Answer 11

• claims that as long as there are people on earth, lover’s beauty will live on through people reading poem
• says his beloved has been given eternal life due to being immortalised in poem
• repetition of ‘so long’ + ‘this’ emphasise that this is forever

Question 12

Explain quatrains 1 + 2

Answer 12

• dissing summer, saying lover is better
• speaking directly to lover –> adds sense of intimacy
• use quotes to explain + give examples
• e.g. “and every fair from fair sometimes declines,
  By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d” - summer fades into autumn, so author doesn’t want to compare lover to something so transient + imperfect as summer’s day
• holds summer’s day to harsh criticism, explains why lover is far superior

Question 13

Explain quatrain 3

Answer 13

• has explained that lover is more beautiful than summer, and that summer isn’t lasting, now explains why lover will last longer
• says beauty won’t fade as it is immortalised in this poem
• even when they die, death can’t boast of having control over them, as they’ll live on in the lines Shakespeare wrote + their loveliness will be preserved for all time

Question 14

Explain the rhyming couplet

Answer 14

• says that as long as there are people alive, his lover’s beauty will live on
• bc as long as there are people to read it, beauty won’t die

Question 15

Tone

Answer 15

• loving

- warm

Question 16

Themes

Answer 16

Love

• simply expressed but in a powerful way
• about the transience of life/beauty - if liked to physical beings, will pass away, but if captured in poetry will live forever
• last two lines emphasise point of sonnet - beloved will live forever in these words

Question 17

Techniques

Answer 17

1. Iambic pentameter
   - 10 syllables in each line
   - unstressed syllable followed by stressed x5
   - gives lovely fixed rhythm to sonnet, makes sentiments expressed seem more definite + convincing than looser structure would
   - v. clear in last two lines
2. Rhyming
   - ABAB format until last two lines, adds to lovely set rhythm
   - last two lines are rhyming couplet, nice finish to poem as rounds up whole message in two neat little lines which rhyme with one another
3. Imagery
   - beautiful imagery of summer’s day
   - give examples of lines etc.
4. Alliteration
   - e.g. “by chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d”
5. Talking directly to lover –> sense of intimacy