This sonnet is by far the most interesting poems I have read by Shakespeare. This is also one of the most lyrically moving poems that I have ever read. There is great use of imagery within the sonnet, it is also one if his beautiful pieces of work. It is mainly due to the simplicity and loveliness of the poem's praise of the beloved woman that has guaranteed its place in the readers mind and heart. .
The speaker of the poem opens with a question that is addressed to the beloved, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" This question is comparing her to the summer season. During this season is when the flowers are blooming, trees are full of leaves, the weather is warm, and generally it is known as an enjoyable season. The following eleven lines in the poem are also dedicated to similar comparisons between the beloved and summer days. In line 2 and 3, the speaker explains what mainly separates the young woman from the summer's day: she is "more lovely and more temperate." (Line 2) Summer's days tend towards extremes: they are sometimes shaken by "rough winds" (Line 3) which happens. However in line 4, the speaker gives the feeling again that the summer months are often to short by saying, "And summer's lease hath too short a date." In the summer days, the sun, "the eye of heaven" (Line 5), often shines "too hot," or too dim, "his gold complexion dimmed" (Line 6), that is there are many hot days during the summer but soon the sun begins to set earlier at night because autumn is approaching. Summer is moving along to quickly for the speaker, it's time here needs to be longer, and it also means that the chilling of autumn is coming upon us because the flowers will soon be withering, as "every fair from fair sometime declines." (Line 7) The final portion of the sonnet tells how the beloved differs from the various perspectives. Her beauty will be one that lasts forever, "Thy eternal summer shall not fade.