Sonnet 18 Analysis: Examining William Shakespeare’s Poetic Tribute

Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18" is written to immortalize the young man for whom he lusts because of his borderline perfection and beauty. In order to do this Shakespeare compares him to Summer, the season that is generally regarded as the most beautiful. While on the surface this strategy seems like an effective way to have the young man forever remembered, the way it is written begs the larger question of whether or not "Sonnet 18" is about the man at all.

There are many reasons to argue that Shakespeare did in fact write his sonnet in order to commemorate the young man. Line by line, Shakespeare raises the man's pedestal by bashing Summer in comparison to him. Shakespeare starts off by declaring that the man is "more lovely and more temperate" (Shakespeare, line 2) than Summer, adding that "rough winds do shake the darling buds of May" (line 3).

In saying this he not only makes an assertion about the man's physical beauty, but also about his consistency. Shakespeare uses the analogy of cold and windy days in the beginning of the season to point out that some summer days are indeed not all that lovely, whereas the man by contrast always is. By using elliptical phrasing, we automatically assume that any of his negative statements about summer are ones that are not reflected in the man. Because of this we picture the man's beauty to be unshakeable, his "complexion" (line 6) to be un-dimmable, and his beauty unperishable; however, oddly enough, Shakespeare never directly says anything about the man until line nine. When he finally begins to speak about the young man, all of his assertions confirm what we already believe from the beginning half of the poem; the man is remarkably beautiful.

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In Shakespeare's eyes, however, all these statements of beauty are trumped by one thing in particular: his own writing. In line nine, the volta's shift is very subtle. Shakespeare claims that the young man's "eternal summer shall not fade" (line 9), that his fairness will not be lost, and that "Death [will never] brag [the man] wander'st in his shade" (line 11). While this sounds complimentary to the man, just as the early allusions to the man in comparison to summer, it actually is not. Shakespeare claims he will be eternal in the minds of men as they will always read and speak about him because Shakespeare decided to write him into history, not because his beauty was historic. The last three lines make this distinction extremely apparent. Shakespeare explains that "When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; / So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee" (lines 12-14), making it absolutely clear that only as long as his poem lives on will the man's memory survive'. In other words, it is the beauty of his poetry, not the abstract idea of this attractive man, that will garner the attention of men forever. After close analysis, "Sonnet 18" raises the question: what is immortality?

Using Shakespeare's surface level purpose, it is a rather difficult question that once again leads me to believe that his intention never was to immortalize the young man. Immortality and commemoration in history are things generally reserved for the most famous of men, not for an anonymous person whose value can essentially be chalked up to being good looking. The whole premise of that idea seems nonsensical, and so it seems that the man is in actuality a mere tool for Shakespeare to almost brag about the power of his writing. His assertion that men and women would speak about his unnamed subject for years to come was spot on, but it isn't about the man at all, but rather "Sonnet 18". The man is in many ways a mere metaphor for Shakespeare's writing and style. Shakespeare is the one who will be talked about forever. It is his writing that is beautiful, not the man's physical appearance. It is his work that is consistent and lovely. It is his name that will be attached to this poem forever. The young man is unnamed purposefully, because it was never Shakespeare's intention to have him live on past his days.

The power of this poem in part rests on the fact that so much remains vague. Although those who have spent their life studying Shakespeare believe "Sonnet 18" to be a method of persuading a young man to procreate, there is no evidence to support that, and there is in fact evidence that contradicts that idea in the poem. The brilliance behind the sonnet is the method of bait and switch that Shakespeare uses in this way; he gives us what seem to be detailed descriptions of a beautiful person of some importance, but when all the dust settles he hasn't given us anything at all. He leaves us wondering what he is even describing. Our minds immediately snap to humanize the subject of his poem, but the sonnet entirely lacks any mention of gender or human features. The only defined person he injects into his sonnet is himself. "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" (line 1). As such, it is hard not to believe that "Sonnet 18" could serve as a nod to himself and his legacy. No one could deny that he deserves immortalization, or that his work was not more beautiful, consistent, and undying as any summer. Perhaps the first eleven lines of the poem were written merely as an introduction to his greatness.

Shakespeare sees in the summer season, and arguably even in the young man described earlier, a physical beauty that seems unmatched. Line by line he describes the many ways in which these natural beauties cannot truly compare. But to what? It is hard for us to imagine he could be comparing physical beauty to anything but itself, but the reason why even the most gorgeous of days cannot shine a candle to his subject is because they are completely different. Comparing the beauty of a summer's day to an entire life's work is impossible. How could one season compare to such a large range and collection of art. Just as he fools us into confusing physical and abstract subjects, he tricks us into believing his descriptions of beauty must be tangible.

"Sonnet 18" is one that lacks a clearly defined subject, purpose, or name. With a poem that relies so much on the undefined and vague, there are guaranteed to be a countless number of different interpretations. I believe that with a poem as unclear as "Sonnet 18" the surface meaning is often the entire trick. While assuming that Shakespeare was indeed writing for the sake of complimenting a man leaves dozens of unanswered questions, the assertion that one of his most famous poems is an ode to his own legacy and career completes the narrative in a way that no tangible entity could. Shakespeare's effort was not to immortalize a person he lusted for, or even one whom he loved, it was to make the argument that he deserves to be remembered forever. It was to make the argument that his "eternal summer [should never] fade" (line 9).

Works Cited:

1. Shakespeare, William. "Sonnet 18." The sonnets. In R. G. White (Ed.), The complete works of William Shakespeare. New York: Sully and Kleinteich. 1609

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