Sonnet 18 Analysis

     The sonnet I chose to analyze is "Sonnet 18." I believe the theme of this poem is the idea of eternity and everlasting beauty through writing. The message that the writer is trying to get across is that the woman he is speaking of is beautiful now, and she will forever be beautiful and immortal as long as his writing exists. The speaker discusses the beauty of the woman he is talking about when he says, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate." He then talks of her beauty never dying when he says, "But thy eternal summer shall not fade, Nor lose possession of that fair thou owes." Finally, the speaker discusses that death will never take her and that she will be immortal, "So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee" which means that as long as people are living and his writing is still around, so is she.
     This poem also uses many different elements to add to the development of the theme. One of these elements is literary devices. One literary device that is found within the poem is personification. Personification can be seen in line 3 "Rough winds do shake" which is personifying the wind and line  11 "Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade" which is personifying Death. Another literary device is alliteration found in line 7 "fair from fair." One final literary device is the kenning eye of heaven, which means the sun, found in line 5. Imagery is also used throughout the poem to allow the reader to picture what the speaker is talking about. These literary devices add interest to the overall poem, which then in turn contributes to the theme of the poem. Structure is the second element that adds development to the theme. The structure of this poem is a quatrain in which the first 12 lines are grouped in three groups of four lines and help to summarize and build the overall theme with what they are saying. The last two lines are grouped in a couplet and they provide a dramatic ending statement to the poem that leaves the reader with a lasting impression. In the case of "Sonnet 18" the couplet at the end of the poem is even set aside from the rest of the poem because, without a doubt, it is the most important two lines of the poem. The third element that adds to the development of the theme is word choice. The word choice in this poem is what helps to get the message of the poem across and communicate the theme. These are the different elements that add to the development of the theme.
     The theme of this poem fits in very nicely with the themes of other sonnets during this time period. The themes this poem shares with other poems of the time period are time, death and beauty. "Sonnet 18" discusses time and death by saying that woman who is being spoken about with never die and will live throughout time. Also, this poem most obviously discusses beauty because it talks of the beauty of the woman that never fades. However, this poem also is different from the popular themes of moral integrity and love of this time. Although the speaker clearly admires the woman he is speaking of, he never claims to love her, and the idea of moral integrity is never mentioned in the poem. "Sonnet 18" is is a thought provoking and well written poem that I thoroughly enjoyed both reading and analyzing.