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Sonnet 18 by Nor Syahira Asyiqin (193449)


SHAKESPEARE’S SONNET

Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day?

Last semester, my friend and I analayzed Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day? by William Shakespeare for our class, A Survey of Prose Forms and Poetry in English. I was intimidated at first when our lecturer chose us to do this sonnet, and it was the only sonnet out of the list of poems for that course. William Shakespeare was one of the most eminent writers in the history of classic literature, so undoubtedly I would be apprehensive because the last thing that I want to do is giving my classmates the wrong information regarding this sonnet.

Thus, I embarked on my journey through the world of Internet.

I read this sonnet for the first time and I didn’t understand what Shakespeare was trying to say at all. I never liked poems anyway, so to me it was incomprehensible. I was basically clueless to put it lightly. I mean I knew it has some romantic elements to it (it’s Shakespeare we’re talking about here), so I was starting somewhere.

As I was doing my research, my eyes kind of opened a little, like a tiny bit. I am by no means a romantic myself but… this got to me. I was starting to have some sort of a connection with this sonnet. I broke down verse by verse and gradually I began to grasp what this whole piece was about. Granted it is still very much romantic however, Shakespeare articulated it in such a sophisticated and elegant manner that even made my heart melted. Especially the couplets;

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Imagine adoring someone to the point in which you wrote a sonnet about him. Saying that his beauty will forever be woven in the piece. Knowing that people will continue on sharing this sonnet and admiring it to the end of days, so that his beauty will never fade as life goes on. I could never see myself forgetting this sonnet. It is such a beautiful work of art. I can see why people keep on raving about it. To me, I think they want to experience the love that Shakespeare went through that inspired him to write this piece (if he was ever in love with the person in this sonnet that is). 

I’m glad my first sonnet reading is Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day?. Because then I would want to read more from Shakespeare’s work. But I can asure that, I will always favour Sonnet 18.

By: Nor Syahira Asyiqin Bt Shaharul Anuar (193449)

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