Get summary, textual solutions, questions, answers, notes. pdf, extras to the poem Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? by William Shakespeare which is a part of Class 10 English Literature Reader syllabus for students studying under Manipur Board (BSEM).
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Summary
The speaker opens the poem with a question, asking if he should compare the beloved to a summer’s day. In the next lines, he stipulates how the beloved differs from summer: the beloved is more lovely and mild in temperament.
The speaker then describes some of the flaws of summer days. Summer winds can be rough and shake the buds of May. Summer is fleeting – its duration is too short. The sun often shines too intensely, or its “gold complexion” is dimmed by clouds. Every beautiful thing in nature eventually declines over time or due to the changing seasons.
In the final quatrain, the speaker states that the beloved’s beauty will remain perfect forever and will never fade like summer does. The beloved will never have to face death’s decay. Instead, the beloved’s beauty will be preserved eternally in the lines of this poem.
The couplet concludes that as long as humans live and can see, this poem will live on, keeping the beloved’s beauty alive forever. Essentially, the poet is immortalizing the beloved through verse, promising that the poetry will eternally preserve the memory and beauty of the beloved.
Line by line explanation
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
The speaker opens with a question, asking if he should compare the beloved to a summer’s day.
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
The beloved is more beautiful and more mildly tempered than a summer’s day.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
Summer winds can be rough, shaking the buds of May.
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:
Summer’s duration is too brief.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
The sun often shines too intensely in the summer.
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
Clouds often dim the sun’s golden complexion in summer.
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
All that is beautiful in nature declines over time.
By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimmed.
Beauty fades due to chance or nature’s changing seasons.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
The beloved’s beauty will remain perfect, never fading.
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
The beloved will not lose possession of his beauty.
Nor shall death brag thou wand’rest in his shade,
Death cannot boast that the beloved wanders in his shade.
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st,
As long as this poem lives on through time.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
As long as humans live and can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
This poem will live on, keeping the beloved’s memory alive.
Glossary
Thee – You (the beloved being addressed)
Lovely – Beautiful, attractive
Temperate – Moderate, mild, not extreme
Rough winds – Strong, turbulent winds
Darling buds of May – Beloved flowers of springtime
Summer’s lease – Summer’s duration, its allotted time
Date – Duration, time period
Eye of heaven – The sun
Gold complexion – Golden color, radiance
Dimmed – Darkened, made less bright
Fair – Beautiful, attractive
Declines – Deteriorates, fades
Chance – Random occurrence, happenstance
Untrimmed – Unaltered, unchanged
Eternal summer – Perpetual youth and beauty
Ow’st – Own, possess
Shade – Shadow, darkness; the afterlife
Eternal lines – Everlasting verses of poetry
Time – Mortality, decay
Grow’st – Endure, persist through time
Gives life – Immortalizes, preserves in verse
Comprehension
A. Choose the correct choice from the alternatives given:
a. The poet will like to compare his friend with
Answer: IV. a summer’s day.
b. Summer’s gold complexion is
Answer: II. golden sunshine.
c. The poet believes that his friend will be remembered because of
Answer: I. his poem.
B. Answer the following questions in a sentence each:
a. Who is thee?
Answer: ‘Thee’ refers to the poet’s friend, about whom the poem is written.
b. What does the wind do to the flowers?
Answer: The wind shakes the darling buds of May.
c. What is ‘summer’s lease’?
Answer: ‘Summer’s lease’ refers to the time assigned to the summer season, or the length of the summer season.
d. Whose ‘gold complexion’ is referred to in the poem?
Answer: The ‘gold complexion’ referred to in the poem is that of the sun.
e. What are the ‘eternal lines’ mentioned in the poem?
Answer: The ‘eternal lines’ mentioned in the poem refer to the lines of poetry that are permanent (everlasting).
f. ‘So long lives this and this gives life to thee.’ Identify ‘this’ in the above line.
Answer: ‘This’ in the above line refers to the poem itself.
C. Answer each of the following questions briefly:
a. Describe the beauty of a summer’s day.
Answer: A summer’s day is described as less temperate and subject to rough winds, unlike the poet’s friend who is more lovely and temperate.
b. ‘Thou art more lovely and more temperate.’ Explain.
Answer: This statement means that the poet’s friend, compared to a summer’s day, is more beautiful and has a more moderate, pleasant temperament.
c. ‘And often is his gold complexion dimmed.’ What does the poet mean by it?
Answer: By this, the poet means that the sun’s (referred to as “his”) golden brightness is often obscured or diminished.
d. Why does the poet say ‘every fair from fair sometimes decline’?
Answer: The poet says this to express that all beautiful things (every fair) occasionally lose their beauty (decline) due to natural changes or accidents.
e. ‘Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade.’ Why cannot death brag?
Answer: Death cannot brag about claiming the poet’s friend because the friend’s beauty will live on eternally through the poem, beyond the reach of death.
f. ‘So long lives this and this gives life to thee.’ Explain.
Answer: This means that as long as the poem exists (so long lives this), it will continue to give life to the poet’s friend, keeping his beauty and memory alive.
C. Answer each of the following questions briefly:
a. Describe the beauty of a summer’s day.
Answer: The beauty of a summer’s day is described as having rough winds that shake the darling buds of May, and a lease that has all too short a date. Sometimes the sun shines too hot, and often its gold complexion is dimmed.
b. ‘Thou art more lovely and more temperate.’ Explain.
Answer: This means that the poet’s friend, compared to a summer’s day, is more beautiful and has a more moderate, pleasant temperament. The friend’s beauty is not as fleeting or variable as a summer’s day.
c. ‘And often is his gold complexion dimmed.’ What does the poet mean by it?
Answer: The poet is referring to the sun, saying that its golden brightness is often obscured or dimmed, either by clouds or the natural variability of weather.
d. Why does the poet say ‘every fair from fair sometimes decline’?
Answer: The poet says this to express that all beautiful things (every fair) eventually lose their beauty (decline) due to natural changes, chance, or the passage of time.
e. ‘Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade.’ Why cannot death brag?
Answer: Death cannot brag about claiming the poet’s friend because the friend’s beauty is immortalized in the poem, and thus, beyond the reach of death.
f. ‘So long lives this and this gives life to thee.’ Explain.
Answer: This means that as long as the poem exists (so long lives this), it will continue to give life to the poet’s friend by preserving and immortalizing his beauty and memory.
Appreciation
A. The poem you have read is a ‘sonnet’. The word ‘sonnet’ has come from the Italian word ‘sonetto’ which means ‘a little sound’ or ‘a song’. Sonnets have 14 lines and have specially arranged rhyme schemes.
In Shakespearan sonnets the lines are structured in three groups of 4 lines each which are called quartrains – 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The final two lines are called a couplet.
Each quartrain and the couplet have special arrangement of rhyme scheme. Now complete the following table on the rhyme scheme of the poem:
Answer:
| Structure | Rhyme Scheme | Theme |
| Quartrain 1 | ABAB | Comparison between poet’s friend and summer’s beauty |
| Quartrain 2 | CDCD | Summer is less beautiful |
| Quartrain 3 | EFEF | How the poem will immortalise his friend; |
| Couplet | GG | Emphasizes his poem will immortalise him |
B. Count the syllable in each line and find out if they have a pattern.
Answer: Each line of the sonnet contains 10 syllables, following a pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables characteristic of iambic pentameter.
C. The poet compares the beauty of his friend with a summer’s day. Bring out how summer’s beauty suffers in the comparison by filling in the two columns.
Answer:
| Summer’s day | Poet’s friend |
| Less temperate; rough winds | More temperate |
| Gold complexion dimmed | Eternal beauty; not dimmed |
| Short lease; changes | Eternal summer; unchanging |
| Subject to time’s ravages | Immortalized in poetry |
Discuss
a. Why Shakespeare wrote this poem. Is it his desire to immortalize the fame of his friend?
Answer: Shakespeare wrote Sonnet 18 as a profound expression of love and admiration for his friend. The central theme of the poem is the enduring nature of the friend’s beauty, which Shakespeare contrasts with the fleeting and imperfect beauty of a summer’s day. By immortalizing his friend’s beauty in poetry, Shakespeare expresses his desire to defy the natural decay and change that time brings. This desire to immortalize his friend indicates a deep affection and respect, showcasing the power of his art to confer eternal life on the subject of his verse.
b. Do you think Shakespeare has succeeded in his purpose?
Answer: Shakespeare has indeed succeeded in his purpose. The very fact that Sonnet 18 is still widely read and celebrated hundreds of years after its creation is a testament to its enduring appeal and the immortality it confers upon the subject. The poem has transcended time and continues to be a symbol of beauty and eternal love. By skillfully using the sonnet form, Shakespeare not only preserves the beauty of his friend but also demonstrates the timeless nature of his own poetic talent. The final couplet, in particular, emphasizes the lasting impact of the poem: as long as people can breathe and see, this poem will live, and so too will the beauty of Shakespeare’s friend. This enduring legacy fulfills Shakespeare’s intent to immortalize his friend through his verse.
Ron’e Dutta is a journalist, teacher, aspiring novelist, and blogger who manages Online Free Notes. An avid reader of Victorian literature, his favourite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. He dreams of travelling the world. You can connect with him on social media. He does personal writing on ronism.