Iambic pentameter is type of metrical line most commonly used in traditional English poetry and verse drama. Written in typical Shakespearean sonnet format, Sonnet 18 has 14 lines of iambic pentameter with a rhymed couplet at the end. The tone of the sonnet is endearing and the poet is trying to convince the readers of the eternal beauty of his young friend.
Here the poet seems to have got a better idea in preserving his friend’s beauty through his verse.Įternity is the general theme of the poem. The quest for having a child in an attempt to preserve the beauty of the young man which Shakespeare argued to have in the previous sonnets has been abandoned in this sonnet. This sonnet should not be taken entirely in isolation as it has been linked to the previous 17 sonnets, also called as the procreation sonnets, believed to be addressed to a young man named W.H. First published in 1609, Sonnet 18 is a typical English sonnet and one of the most famous lyric poems in English. Sonnet 18 or “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day” is one of the most acclaimed of all 154 sonnets written by William Shakespeare. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (Sonnet 18): About the poem
