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Analysis of Shakespeare's Sonnet 18
summer may have imperfections but the youth, by Shakespeare’s belief, does not. This seems contradictory, as the fact is that the youth is a human and all human beings are imperfect. Shakespeare is happily blinded by his love. In his eyes, the youth can do no wrong and he has no negative attributes. Like any person in love, Shakespeare puts the youth on a great pedestal. This again is an affirmation of the love that Shakespeare feels for the man.
Shakespeare continues in his explanation of the inadequacy of summer. It may be beautiful at times, but it is important to realize that it only lasts for a period of time during the year--- “And summer’s lease hath all too short a date. (4). This comparison implies that the youth’s beauty lasts all year long; there is no limit on it and there is no time clock ticking to end it. The issue of time is one of great importance in this poem. Shakespeare feels as though the youth is not subject to time or age. Summer’s glory and beauty may end, but the youth’s will not. His denial of the mortality of the youth proves that he does not see him as human, but as something greater.
Shakespeare expresses that the sun shines too much some days and it is too hot. Other days the sun’s face is hidden by clouds and it is overcast. His personification of the sun lends a hand to comparison. The sun is too hot, but the youth is, as before, temperate. The sun’s golden complexion may be hidden by clouds but the youth’s beauty and golden complexion are never hindered or hidden. There is great power in the comparison of the youth to the sun. Shakespeare believes that all the power the sun possesses, brilliance, heat, color, blindness, and life are nothing compared to the power and perfection of the young man. This belief again provides affirmation that like a God, the young man is greater than the source of light and life on earth.
“And every fair from fair sometimes declines, By chance or nature’s changing course untrimmed:” (7-8) By saying that every fair from fair declines, Shakespeare is saying that every beautiful thing, at some point, grows less and less beautiful and that it reaches the point when it can never be as beautiful as when it first came into being. All beautiful things will fall from perfection. Like summer, beauty has a time limit on it. This is not the case with the young man. His beauty will never dim, nor wilt like the flowers in the wind, nor lessen, nor be covered like the sun may be. He will always retain the state of perfection. Absolute perfection is another quality that makes the youth like a God.
The next line shows that beauty flails because of chance accidents or by the fluctuation of nature’s course. This again ties in [next page]