1)“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare is paradoxical. Find support to show how the speaker (Shakespeare) in the sonnet praises his beloved by comparing his beloved to a “summer’s day?” But in truth, the comparison is sheer hyperbole (exaggeration). Bullet evidence of the comparison and the exaggeration below. 2)Temporal endurance or standing the test of time is ultimately, what is fair or beautiful to the poet. Find evidence of this concept in the sonnet. Bullet evidence of this below.
3)Shakespeare dwells on the conventional point that summer and its beauty are mortal. With the help from anaphora (deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect; roots in biblical psalms) lines 4,6, & 7 begin with “And” which helps turn this common truth about summer into something more eloquent. Paraphrase lines 4, 6 & 7 below; show how Shakespeare makes summer and its beauty eloquent even though they are mortal, end.
4)Show how the beloved’s beauty will avoid the fault of fading, a fault that all other beauties share? The answer is in line 12!!! What is the meaning of this line and the couplet? What stands the test of time? And what can be preserved in it?