Sonnet 72 Essay -- essays research papers

William ShakespeareSonnet 18Sh both I compare thee to a summers mean solar day? &9&9aThou art more lovely and more temperate&9&9&9&9&9&9bRough winds do shake the darling buds of May,&9&9&9&9&9aAnd summers lease hath all too short a date&9&9&9&9&9bSomemagazine too hot the eye of promised land shines&9&9&9&9&9cAnd often is his gold complexion dimmed,&9&9&9&9&9&9dAnd every fair from fair sometimes dec line of works,&9&9&9&9&9c&9By chance, or dispositions changing course, untrimmed&9&9&9&9d yet thy eternal summer shall not fade,&9&9&9&9&9&9eNor lose possession of that fair thou owst&9&9&9&9&9&9fNor shall death brag thou wanderst in his shade,&9&9&9&9&9e&9When in eternal lines to time thou growst&9&9&9&9&9&9fSo long as man can breathe, or eyes can see,&9&9&9&9&9gSo long lives this and this gives life to thee&9&9&9&9&9g3 Sentences1st sentence line 12nd sentence lines 2 - 83rd sentence lines 9 - 14This is a Shakespearean sonnet with no characteristics of a Petrarchan sonnet.GLOSSARYTemp erate&9&9&9&9&9moderateDarling&9&9&9&9&9&9very dearLease&9&9&9&9&9&9the landmark during which possession is guaranteedDate&9&9&9&9&9&9the time during which something lastsComplexion&9&9&9&9&9colour, visible aspect, appearanceTo decline&9&9&9&9&9to diminish, decrease, deteriorateUntrimmed&9&9&9&9&9not carefully or neatly arranged or attiredFair&9&9&9&9&9&9beauty, fairness, full looksEternal &9&9&9&9&9infinite in past and future duration,&9&9&9&9&9&9without beginning or endTo brag&9&9&9&9&9to declare or assert boastfully SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO A SUMMERS DA... ...tent iambic pentameter, encapsulates the idea of eternal life through versification.&9The meter is iambic pentameter and the rhythm is fairly rhythmical throughout the sonnet. However, in a number of lines there are spondaic feet, used to emphasise threats to the beauty and the idea of eternity. Clear examples of this are the "Rough winds" in line 3 and the "death" that will not "brag" in line 11. In the latter example the threat of death is reinforced by the assonance between the words "death" and "brag". Line 9 is an interesting line as regards the rhythm. For the last two feet reinforce the turn, introduced by the "But". A regular rhythm would have a stress on "shall", followed by an unstressed "not". However, the opposite is true. This clearly adds to the contrasting quality of this line after two regular iambic pentameters the stress on the "not" following the introductory "But" leaves no doubt about the turn the subscriber witnesses in this line. A truly beautiful example of a Shakespearean turn.