Sonnet 18 Figurative Language

Through the numerous descriptions of nature, as well as beauty, Sonnet 18 illustrates the the theme that poetry is power. First, it is important to understand how the question on line one is answered throughout the poem. The question “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” (line 1) can be interpreted, as the writer describing the beauty of someone by comparing them through many descriptions of nature. These descriptions are found throughout lines 1-11 in the sonnet. For example, many of the lines following the question explain how the girl’s beauty is more than the beauty of a summer’s day, for a summer’s day has flaws. One important flaw of summer to note, is how it never seems long enough and ends too quickly, which implies that the writer believes the girl’s beauty lasts longer than summer. On the first quatrain, the girl’s beauty is addressed, but as the sonnet continues, it is noticed that the girl’s beauty is not addressed as much, which makes the reader wonder what the theme of the poem really is.

The author personifies the sun describing how it is not perfect either. The sun is said to either be too hot and bright, or dimmed. This personification helps the reader understand what the author thinks beauty is. Now, following these two lines, the author addresses how beauty will decline either “by chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d” (line 8). This quote is important, for it helps see that the writer believes that beauty will fade away naturally, because it can not last forever. This lines provides important information on what the authors opinion is on beauty, as well as how long it can