Shakespeare goes on to say that his lover is “more lovely and more temperate” than a summer’s day, which shows flattery in the sense that, he is saying that her beauty outshines that of a summer’s day, she is more beautiful. He says, “rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.” Shakespeare is telling his loved one that summer does not last forever. This could mean that he is trying to say that her beauty, unlike summer is more beautiful and less extreme in outward appearance and personality.
He personifies the sun when he says, “summer’s lease hath all too short a date”. It is as if the sun is an object which may only be hired to burn strongly for a short space of time. His lover is better because unlike summer, her beauty is always present and does not leave when the seasons change. Sometimes summer can be unpleasant, “too hot the eye of heaven shines” but she is always lovely.
In the seventh and eighth lines, Shakespeare complains that every beauty will become less one day: “And every fair from fair sometime declines…” He is saying that every beautiful thing dies, but his lover’s beauty will never pass away as it will forever live on in the words of his poem.
Shakespeare’s tone begins to change at about the ninth line when he says that her “eternal summer shall not fade”. He is telling his lover that her beauty is only going to live on and be untouched through the course of time, because her beauty is entangled in the words of the poem. He personifies death when he says “Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade…” It is as if “death” will be wandering around claiming its victims, but it will never take her because she is going to live forever in the words of the sonnet. This almost seems as if Shakespeare is being arrogant, because it appears as if he is making himself out to be a God like figure, who has the power to make people immortal and his lover should be grateful that he has chosen her. He has the power of words to put his lover down in history. Her beauty will fade, but now she will be immortalised in Shakespeare’s poem.
Shakespeare’s assurance becomes even firmer in lines eleven and twelve, which contain a promise that death will be conquered. 'Eternal lines' refers to lines of poetry. It is as if over time the lines of the poem will become stronger and more powerful in the sense that they shall never fade which relates to her beauty growing over time. It points forward to the triumphant couplet, which explains and summarizes the theme: poetry is immortal and makes beauty immortal. Repetition of the words “So long” reinforces this idea.
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” is similar to Shakespeare’s sonnet 116, as they are of course both sonnets. This shows that they have the same structure of fourteen lines with three divisions of four lines and a rhyming couplet. It is a simple poem in the sense that it is mainly made up of monosyllabic words.
Sonnet 116 is about love in its ideal form. It is praising the glories of lovers who have come to each other freely, and enter into a relationship based on trust and understanding. The poem begins with the line “Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments...” The line is linked to the marriage service and in the poem; it aims to illustrate the allowable constraints of love. Shakespeare is saying that love is not love when it encounters change. If it “alters when it alteration finds”, then it is not love. It is as if he is begging his lover to see that they are two of a kind and they should be able to overcome any barriers that they may encounter. He describes love to be an “ever-fixed mark”, a constant security for them both as well as lovers around the world. He goes on to say that; love “looks on Tempests and is never shaken”. The tempest is a metaphorical storm, which is used to symbolise arguments. He says that the love they share may encounter disagreements, but they shall never shake it. Their love does not fade away it is forever unharmed.
Shakespeare then goes on to say that, love is the “star to every wand’ ring bark”. Love is like a star sending out its light to help lost ships find their way. Shakespeare and his lover can be seen as the lost ships seeking the light to help them find their way together, united by love. Therefore, love can be seen as a strong guide to aid you through life.
Shakespeare personifies time when he says “love’s not time’s fool…” He goes on to say that beauty in the sense of “Rosy lips and cheeks”, will not last forever and will one day be lost in the shadows of death. It is as if freshness changes, but love “alters not with his brief hours and weeks”. Love is something far greater than something short term.
In the final couplet, Shakespeare says that if he is mistaken about the nature of perfect love, then he might as well take back all he ever wrote on the subject. He goes on to say that if he has in fact judged love inappropriately, then his words on the subject are worthless or “no man ever loved”.
“O my loves like a red red rose”, is written by a very famous Scottish writer, Robert Burns. It is different to the poems by Shakespeare as it is not a sonnet, but a lyrical ballad with four verses. It consists of a simple and upbeat rhythm, which gives the poem a song like quality. Repetition like that in the first line of “red red rose” adds to the idea. The poem is written in Scottish dialect of the late 1700’s. This makes the poem feel warmer and alive. An example is when Burns says “my bonnie lass…” The use of the Scottish dialect reflects the culture of the area at that period in history. The language used is simple and easily accessible. Use of simple similes like “red red rose” and “like the melodie that’s sweetly played in tune” adds to the overall simplicity of the poem. The poem was seen to be revolutionary and indeed very powerful and popular because this was an ordinary working-class voice that people at the time could relate to. The poem is written from Burns directly to his loved one. He is writing the poem as he is going away, but he still wants her to know that he will love her forever and no matter how far apart they are, their love will keep them united.
In the first verse, Burns uses nature to display his love as was very common at the time. Burns says that his love is fresh and alive “like a red red rose” that has been “newly sprung in June”. It is as if his love has just bloomed like a flower under the warmth of the sun on a beautiful summer’s day. He uses another simile, “like the melodie…” to describe his feelings towards his lover as being just as beautiful and cherished as the notes that make up a tune. He says various things, which suggest that he feels that his love will last for an eternity. An example is when he says that he will love her even “while the sands o’ life shall run”. This is a metaphor. The “sands” represent the sand that runs down in an hourglass. This shows that Burns is describing his love as being timeless and forever. He describes his love as his “only love” and says that even though he is going away, he “will come again…tho’it were ten thousand mile”. This shows that he really loves the woman he is writing the poem for. The song like quality and simplicity shows that if it were ever read to an audience then they would have all been able to understand it because of its simple language and Burns’ use of Scottish dialect.
Overall, in Shakespeare’s “Shall I compare thee to a summers” day, he comes across as being very arrogant as the poem gradually leads on to saying that his lovers beauty will last forever, but only in the words of the poem. He is basically saying that he has the power to make his lover immortal, as the words of the poem will be available to view for an eternity, even when Shakespeare and his lover are long since passed away. In sonnet 116, Shakespeare is almost giving his view on what he believes love is. He defines love as being an “ever fixed mark”, which is able to overcome any obstacles. The final couplet endorses his belief in what constitutes true love, arguing that if his definition is wrong then his writing is worthless and no one has ever truly loved. In “O my loves like a red red rose”, Burns uses a lyrical ballad to get his feelings across to his lover before he has to leave. The song like quality and simple language makes it a very affective declaration of his love.
