GROUP 3

SONNET 18
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
 I/ WRITING STYLES
1.1 Iambic Pentameter
Iambic Penta meter
⇩ ⇩ ⇩
foot (in poem) 5 a measurement (feet)

Iambic pentameter is defined as a ten-syllable line with

the accent on every other syllable, beginning with the
second one.

A series of unstressed words, then

stressed words. In the case of the
heartbeat, it would sound like
bump BUMP, bump BUMP. That’s
why Iambic pentameter has been
called a “heart beat,” and each of
Shakespeare’s lines contains that
human beat.

It is also noticed that the accent was placed on the most

important words. Words like “the,” “is,” and “and” that
do not carry the meaning are on the unaccented portion
of the lines.
 I/ WRITING STYLES
1.2 Blank Verse

Most of Shakespeare’s work is written in

blank verse. It is unrhymed. The danger
with blank verse was of being monotonous.
However, because of the iambic
pentameter, human emotions were still
perfectly portrayed.

“Romeo and Juliet”

by William Shakespeare

But soft!/ What light /

through yon/der win/dow
breaks?
It is / the East / and Ju/liet is /
the sun!
Arise / fair sun / and kill / the
en/vious moon,
Who is / alrea/dy sick / and
pale / with grief/
 I/ WRITING STYLES
2. Writing styles of sonnets
Sonnets are 14 lines poems.

Rhyme scheme: ABAB / CDCD / EFEF / GG

“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? A

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:B
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,A
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:B

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,C

And often is his gold complexion dimmed,D
And every fair from fair sometime declines,C
By chance, or nature's changing course
untrimmed:D

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,E

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,F
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,E
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st,F

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,G

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”G
“Sonnet 18” by William Shakespeare
 I/ WRITING STYLES
2. Writing styles of sonnets
Subject: 154 Sonnets share the same
subject which is “love” .♥

Rhyming Couplets: A Rhyming Couplet is two line of

the same length that rhyme and complete one
thought. Typically found at the end of sonnets, they're
associated with noble characters and can be spoken
by more than one person.

“So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,G

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”G
 II/ THE POEM’S
COMPARISON

In the first 8 lines, we can see how

Shakespeare compares his beloved with a
summer's day. He expresses his thoughts
about his beloved's beauty of youth using
imagery of nature. Nevertheless, he does not
adopt the conventional approach; rather, he
highlights how the comparison is inadequate

In the second line, he answers the

initial question that his love is
more beautiful and temperate
than the natural world. In the
next lines, the poet exalts (1) the
limitations of a summer’s day
and (2) the fleeting and
temporary beauty of nature due
to nature’s cycles to highlight the
tender and everlasting beauty of
his beloved
 II/ THE POEM’S
COMPARISON
a. The poet acknowledges the shortcomings
of comparing his beloved to a summer’s day
by pointing out its unpleasant features. The
third sentence reveals that the poet believes
the summertime weather will ruin the
springtime flowers with its “rough winds”.
In line 5, the harshness of summer’s weather
is believed to come from the sun although
sunshine is usually expected to be warm and
pleasant.

→ In order for the reader to understand how

much Shakespeare elevates the picture of his
beloved, he sets out to destroy all pleasant
associations with summer.
 II/ THE POEM’S
COMPARISON

b. He also conveys the idea that time is

ephemeral and always changing.

He claims the short span of summer and its

temporary state by the word “lease”. When
the poet describes the sun, he uses the words
“gold complexion dimmed.” As much
beautiful as the summer is, it will “decline”.

→By illustrating the unavoidable cycle of

life, the poet states that the person's beauty
will not be subject to the inevitable decline
of the seasons. That is why in the rest of the
poem, he argues that his beloved’s ‘eternal
summer’ will not fade, thanks to the ‘eternal
lines’ of Shakespeare’s verse which will
guarantee that the subject’s beauty will live
forever.
 III/ POETIC DEVICES

Alliteration: the repetition of usually

initial consonant sounds in two or more
neighboring words or syllables mainly to
create the rhythm.

Line 8: the connected sounds of "chance " and

"changing" underscore the impermanence of the
natural world.
Line 11: “shall,” “shade”
Line 13, 14: “long”
Line 14: "lives" and "life" underline the connection
between the eternal life of the poem and the young
man's eternal life.
Line 14: “this,” “this,” “thee” show the close
connection between this sonnet and the young
man, or the passionate love for the young man.
 III/ POETIC DEVICES

Anaphora: the practice of repeating the

same word at the start of several
sentences.

Line 13: “So long”

Line 14: “So long”
The repeated phrase underlines the conceptual
continuity between the ideals expressed in these
lines." This states firmly that the poem survives as
long as "men can breathe or eyes can see”.
Shakespeare is confident that his sonnet could
always interest others. Also, he uses this sonnet,
which he believes could be eternal, as a ‘memorial'
to his beloved's life; therefore, the young man's
beauty will be eternal.
 III/ POETIC DEVICES

Aporia: a rhetorical device in which a

speaker expresses uncertainty or doubt -
often pretended uncertainty or doubt.

Line 1: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

The speaker poses a rhetorical question: should he
compare his beloved to a summer's day?
There is a Renaissance proverb: "as good as one
shall see in a summer's day"—which means
something like "as good as the best there is”. He
asked whether it would be appropriate to compare
the beloved to something widely regarded as the
best and most beautiful thing possible. Deep down,
Shakespeare acknowledges that the subject of his
poem is much grander.
This question allows Shakespeare to refuse the
traditional belief with the following lines,
underscoring his beloved's eternal beauty is
beyond any common beliefs.
 III/ POETIC DEVICES

End-stopped line: End-stopped line in

poetry means that a complete thought or
phrase appears on a single line followed
by punctuation.

Line 1: “day?” End-stopped line allows the

Line 2: “temperate:” poem to be broken down
Line 3: “May,” into more digestible units,
Line 4: “date;” making it easier for the
Line 5: “shines,” listeners to follow. Also,
Line 6: “dimm'd;” each line expresses his
Line 7: “declines,” complete thought,
Line 8: “untrimm'd;” highlighting his confidence
Line 9: “fade,” in his ability.
Line 10: “ow’st;” Also, with the fixed
Line 11: “shade,” punctuation, the writer can
Line 12: “grow’st:” control the way the reader
Line 13: “see,” reads and interprets his
Line 14: “thee.” sonnet.
 III/ POETIC DEVICES

Personification: the practice of

representing objects, qualities, etc. as
humans, in art and literature; an object,
quality.

Lines 5-6: “Sometime too hot the eye of heaven

shines, / And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;”
The use of “his" in line 5-6: Shakespeare personifies
the natural world of a summer’s day to show his
respect for the assumedly soulless beauty of
nature.
Line 11: “Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in
his shade,”
The use of “his” in line 11: Shakespeare depicts
“death” as an actual assassin lurking in the dark.
This figure of speech makes “death” become more
vivid and intimidating.
 SONNET 18
by William Shakespeare

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 often is his gold complexion dimmed,
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course
untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his
shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
 SONNET 18
Liệu tôi có nên ví người với một ngày hạ?
Dẫu người đáng yêu lại còn hiền dịu hơn này:
Tháng Năm gió ráp rung lắc chồi non thương
quá,
Thời hạn mùa hạ sao mà ngắn ngủi đến vậy;
Có lúc thiên nhãn rực chiếu quá nhiều nhiệt
đi,
Nhiều khi hoàng nhan ngậm ngùi chịu cảnh
mờ chìm;
Vẻ đẹp nào rồi cũng phải tới hồi biệt ly,
Ngẫu nhiên, hay do tự nhiên biến thiên vô
điểm;
Nhưng hạ của người vĩnh viễn nào biết tàn
phai,
Nào biết mất đi vẻ đẹp nơi mình riêng biệt;
Nào biết lạc vào đêm trường cõi tử kề vai,
Miễn người đã luôn ở trong dòng thơ bất diệt:
Còn người, còn thở, còn thấy, còn mắt, còn
hay,
Còn đây dòng chữ, người mãi sống trong dòng
này.
Đoàn Võ Thái Thuận dịch
 SONNET 18
Liệu rằng nắng hạ có thể xứng đứng cùng
người?
Một nét đáng yêu lại hoà cùng phần êm dịu:
Mầm xanh tháng Năm nghiêng người hứng
chịu gió rát,
Tháng ngày mùa hạ trôi đi chẳng ở lại nhiều;
Có lúc ánh dương bừng lên như đang thiêu
cháy,
Có lúc ẩn mình khuất lấp dưới vẻ âm u,
Trầm ngư lạc nhạn đến lúc chẳng ai hay biết,
Vận mệnh vô thường ngọc trác rồi cũng mờ
lu;
Sắc hạ của người vĩnh cửu không hạn không
tàn,
Sắc hạ của người vĩnh viễn không trao kẻ
khác,
Dù rằng người sẽ lang thang bóng đêm cõi tử,
Thi cú vĩnh hằng vẫn mãi lưu giữ hồng nhan:
Thế nhân tồn tại, tri giác vẫn còn sáng tỏ,
Thi cú vĩnh hằng lưu giữ ánh sáng đời anh.

Huỳnh Nguyễn Tuyết Nhung dịch

 SONNET 18
Liệu rằng người có phải là một ngày nắng hạ?
Dẫu người khả ái lại còn muôn vẻ thanh tao:
Tháng Năm, thương quá gió chướng lay đưa
cành lá,
Tháng ngày mùa hạ than ôi hạn hữu biết bao;
Có lúc Thái Dương lan tỏa làn hơi oi ả,
Có lúc yêu kiều bằng những tia nắng đìu hiu;
Vẻ đẹp nào rồi cũng sẽ vơi đi hết cả,
Rằng bởi vô tình, lẽ đời bất nhẫn triệt tiêu;
Ngày hạ của người: một lẽ hằng hằng bất diệt,
Nhan diện của người: một nét mãi mãi không
phai;
Hỡi ơi Tử Thần: mặc kệ nhà ngươi tìm giết,
Hãy để thơ tôi ôm người bằng cả vòng tay:
Chỉ khi một ngày thế gian ngoài kia ngừng
thở,
Thơ tôi lụi tàn, hồn người mới mất cùng thơ.

Trần Minh Đạt dịch