1、English Poetry Appreciation - Sonnet 181. RhymeThe first 12 lines rhyme every other line and the last two lines end rhymes are the same, which forms the rhyme-scheme of abab, cdcd, efef, gg. (Sonnet 18William Shakespeare (1564-1616)Shall I compare thee to a summers day? /ei/ aThou art more lovely an
2、d more temperate: /eit/ bRough winds do shake the darling buds of May, /ei/ aAnd summers lease hath all too short a date, /eit/ bSometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines, /aiz/ cAnd often is his gold complexion dimed: /imd/ dAnd every fair form fair sometimes declines, /aiz/ c By chance or natures
3、 changing course untrimmd: /imd/ dBut thy eternal summer shall not fade, /eid/ eNor lose possession of that fair thou owst: / st/ fNor shall death brag thou wanderst in his shade, /eid/ e When in eternal lines to time thou growst. / st / fSo long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, /i/ gSo long liv
4、es this, and this gives life to thee. /i/ g)2. MeterEach line in this sonnet is in iambic pentameter which means each line has five feet, usually an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable.For example, we can divide the first line into five independent feet as “Shall I / compare / thee
5、to/ a sum / mers day?” with accents on shall, com, thee, a, mer respectively.(Sonnet 18William Shakespeare (1564-1616)Shall I/ compare/ thee to/ a sum/mers day?Thou art/ more love/ly and/ more tem/perate:Rough winds/ do shake/ the dar/ling buds/ of May, And sum/mers lease/ hath all/ too short/ a dat
6、e: Sometimes/ too hot/ the eye/ of hea/ven shines And of/ten is/ his gold/ complexion dimmd;And eve/ry fair/ form fair/ sometimes/ declines,By chance/ or na/tures changing/ course un/trimmd;But thy/ eter/nal sum/mer shall/ not fade,Nor lose/ posse/ssion of/ that fair/ thou owst;Nor shall/ death brag
7、/ thou wan/derst in/ his shade.When in/ eter/nal lines/ to time/ thou growst:So long/ as men/ can breathe/, or eyes/ can see,So long/ lives this/, and this/ gives life/ to thee.)3. The Rhetorical Devices3.1 Simile and Rhetoric QuestionExample: Shall I compare thee to a summers day?Simile: Summer and
8、 “you” are not similar on the surface, but virtually they are the representatives of beauty. Rhetoric Question: It is also a rhetorical question, that is, formally its a question. Readers dont need to answer because the answer is very clear.3.2 MetaphorExample: And summers lease hath all too short a
9、 date:The summers day is compared to a house, which is the thing we lend from the nature. Therefore, its period of use is limited, and it also insinuates the time that the duration of youth and beauty is limited.3.3 PersonificationExample: And often is his gold complexion dimmd;Obviously the poet co
10、mpares the sun to a man, so he depicts his complexion. (Complexion is usually used to describe someone.)3.4 HyperboleExample: But thy eternal summer shall not fade,According to the laws of nature, every beautiful thing will gradually lose their beauty, so how can the beauty of the person who the poe
11、t describes be eternal?4. ThemeIn the beginning quatrain, the poet compares his friend to a beautiful summers day in order to arouse readers wonderful imagination. However, the poet realizes that the metaphor cant express his high praise for his friend because summer will fade away though its beauti
12、ful. Then how to make the beauty of his friend eternal? The poet finally thinks of the poetry. He thinks that with the power of the poem, he can make the beauty of his friend immortal. That is to say, the beauty of his friend is immoral in that the poetry is eternal. In a word, the poem expresses the two themes. For one thing, the poet highly praises the beauty of his friend, and for another thing, the poet also eulogizes the poetry arts beauty and immortality.
