How Does Shakespeare Describe Beauty of His Friend in Sonnet 18
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In Sonnet 18, also known by its famous opening line “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”, William Shakespeare celebrates the beauty of a young friend, whose identity remains a mystery to readers. Throughout the poem, the poet praises the friend’s beauty, describing it in idealized terms and contrasting it with the imperfections and transience of nature. Shakespeare emphasizes that his friend’s beauty is more “lovely” and more “temperate” than a summer’s day, suggesting that the friend possesses a kind of beauty that is not subject to the same flaws and limitations as the natural world. Through a careful examination of language, imagery, and metaphor, we can explore how Shakespeare elevates his friend’s beauty above the ordinary and situates it in the realm of the eternal.
Comparison to a Summer’s Day
The poem begins with a rhetorical question:
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
This question introduces the central metaphor of the sonnet: the comparison between the friend’s beauty and the beauty of a summer’s day. Summer, in the context of the poem, is traditionally associated with warmth, growth, and beauty. However, Shakespeare immediately rejects the idea that the friend’s beauty can be adequately captured by this comparison. He writes:
“Thou art more lovely and more temperate.”
Here, the poet asserts that the friend is not only more beautiful than a summer’s day but also more “temperate,” meaning more moderate, balanced, and harmonious. The word “temperate” suggests that the friend’s beauty is not subject to the extremes of nature—neither too hot nor too cold, neither too bright nor too dim. This idea of temperance becomes a key aspect of the friend’s beauty throughout the sonnet, as Shakespeare contrasts the friend’s constancy with the changeability of the natural world.
The Imperfections of Nature
To emphasize the superiority of the friend’s beauty, Shakespeare draws attention to the imperfections of a summer’s day. While summer is often associated with beauty, it is also marked by its flaws and transience. The poet notes:
“Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”
In these lines, Shakespeare acknowledges that summer, though beautiful, is often marred by “rough winds” that disturb the delicate buds of May. This image of winds shaking the buds serves as a metaphor for the fragility of natural beauty. The phrase “summer’s lease hath all too short a date” further emphasizes the brevity of summer, suggesting that its beauty is fleeting and will soon give way to the harsher seasons of autumn and winter.
By pointing out the imperfections and brevity of summer, Shakespeare sets up a contrast with the friend’s beauty, which he presents as more enduring and more perfect. Unlike summer, which is subject to change and decay, the friend’s beauty remains constant and unblemished.
The Sun as an Imperfect Metaphor
Another way in which Shakespeare highlights the superiority of his friend’s beauty is through his description of the sun, which he refers to as “the eye of heaven.” While the sun is often associated with warmth, light, and life, Shakespeare notes that it is not always a reliable source of beauty:
“Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d.”
In these lines, the poet points out that the sun can sometimes be too hot, casting an unbearable heat on the earth. At other times, its “gold complexion” can be dimmed by clouds or the passing of time. This fluctuation in the sun’s beauty serves as another contrast to the friend’s beauty, which Shakespeare presents as free from such imperfections. While the sun’s light may fade or become too harsh, the friend’s beauty remains balanced, temperate, and constant.
The personification of the sun as “the eye of heaven” adds a layer of complexity to the poem’s exploration of beauty. The sun, which is traditionally seen as the ultimate source of light and warmth, is shown to be imperfect. By contrast, the friend’s beauty is elevated to a level beyond even that of the sun, suggesting that it is a more perfect and reliable source of light and warmth.
The Eternal Nature of the Friend’s Beauty
Perhaps the most significant way in which Shakespeare describes his friend’s beauty in Sonnet 18 is by presenting it as eternal and unchanging. While the beauty of nature is subject to time and decay, the poet asserts that his friend’s beauty will never fade. He writes:
“But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest.”
In these lines, Shakespeare introduces the concept of an “eternal summer,” a metaphor for the friend’s beauty that will never fade or diminish. The word “eternal” suggests that the friend’s beauty is not bound by the limitations of time or the natural world. Unlike a summer’s day, which lasts only for a brief period, the friend’s “eternal summer” will endure forever.
Shakespeare further emphasizes this idea by declaring that death itself will have no power over the friend’s beauty:
“Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest.”
Here, the poet personifies Death as a figure who might “brag” about claiming the friend’s beauty. However, Shakespeare asserts that death will not be able to claim the friend, because the essence of the friend’s beauty will live on through the “eternal lines” of the sonnet. This idea of poetic immortality is central to the poem, as Shakespeare suggests that his verse has the power to preserve the friend’s beauty for all time.
The Power of Poetry to Immortalize Beauty
In the final couplet of the poem, Shakespeare makes his boldest claim about the power of poetry to immortalize beauty:
“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”
In these lines, the poet asserts that as long as people continue to read the sonnet, the friend’s beauty will live on. The phrase “so long lives this” refers to the poem itself, suggesting that the poem will endure for as long as human beings continue to exist. Through the “eternal lines” of the sonnet, the friend’s beauty will be preserved for future generations, ensuring that it will never fade or be forgotten.
This idea of poetic immortality is a key theme in Shakespeare’s sonnets, and it reflects the poet’s belief in the enduring power of art. While physical beauty is subject to the ravages of time, the beauty captured in verse can transcend time and death, granting the subject a form of immortality that outlasts the limitations of the natural world.
Conclusion
In Sonnet 18, Shakespeare describes his friend’s beauty as superior to that of a summer’s day. Through a series of contrasts with the imperfections and transience of nature, the poet elevates his friend’s beauty to a level that is eternal, unchanging, and free from the flaws of the natural world. By presenting the friend’s beauty as “more lovely and more temperate” than a summer’s day, Shakespeare emphasizes its constancy and balance, qualities that are not subject to the same extremes as the beauty of nature.
Shakespeare asserts that his friend’s beauty will be preserved forever through the “eternal lines” of the sonnet. This idea of poetic immortality is central to the poem, as the poet expresses his belief that art has the power to transcend time and death, preserving human beauty and experience for future generations.
Through the use of vivid imagery, metaphor, and personification, Shakespeare creates a powerful meditation on the nature of beauty and the enduring power of poetry. The friend’s beauty, as described in Sonnet 18, is not just physical but idealized and eternal, a beauty that will live on through the words of the poem for as long as people continue to read and appreciate it.
