Sonnet 18 - William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare - Sonnet #18

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

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

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• William
• Shakespeare
• Summer's
• Day
• sonnet
• 18

[cogidubnus1953]

Beautiful...and as an Englishman let me pay tribute to the recitation, which is probably closer to Shakesperian English pronunciation than current "received" English...

Your timing is maybe a tad stilted, but hey it was 400+ years ago, so who's to tell? Either way it was good. Thank you!

[tatze1986]

thank you very much for your comment!

[BrunoRadaTilly]

you suck

[tatze1986]

If you feel the need to comment, you should at least be a little more constructive and say why you think I suck.

[romkidd]

There's no accounting for taste. There are times when a poem should be read aloud without any emotion. I personally like her voice very much, and I'm ever of opinion that English poems, especially those of this kind, sound far better when read by young girls. I'd even like to request her to record her reading of Lord Byron's 'Childe Harold's Pilgrimage' and 'Don Juan'.

[ilikeblondie]

The only problem with this? its just a minute long.

[michaelseemingly]

Yes. Innocent, clear and you understand the meaning & that comes across nicely. It's not too fast, it's not too slow ... there is no prescribed pace, it all depends on how you feel & how your voice harmonises with that feeling. Yours does so, well.

[CCPoetryNow]

Added to favourites...Love & Appreciation

[cpadill5]

I wish I understood Shakespeare's work. It's so difficult to comprehend! How can I try or where do I start?

[tangoseven70]

I've never really liked this poem (...compared to many of his other poetries) until now. Thanks.

[Pastaforia]

U guys r haters.. it really helps when you have to learn a sonnet for english class!

thank you!

[missbabyice]

He's saying that summer is beautiful but it doesn't last, whereas the love (it is often attributed to the collection of poems he wrote to his male muse but it trascends that) has 'eternal Summer' and that it is immortalised in this poem.

[bezdozhdya]

this is not sonnet 18...

lovely voice )

[Stickyman714]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ITS TO FAAAAAST

[awesomepeeps12345]

well, this was very helpful. i am doing this for an audition for a play, and i needed to hear somone else say it. thanks for posting! i have been a great help for my to ge the flow. i hope i do well! ha!!