Shakespeare’s Sonnets

18 “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” 73 “That Time of Year Thou Mayst in Me Behond from Romeo and Juliet

                               

 

Sonnets: Subject Matter

154 altogether 1-17 – urge a young man to get married

and have babies 18 -126 – human mortality and

immortality of poetry 127 154 The dark lady sequence

(e.g. 116 -- Let me not to the marriage of true mind Admit impediments

-- 130 “My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun” _

18 “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day”

Two Kinds of Summer

Giuseppe Arcimboldo (about 1527-1593) source

18. “Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?” by 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 dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;

(trim: To make neat, or to adjust or balance a ship) * Summer – temporary (with a lease), sun = the eye of heaven, with a face * Changes and decay = regular sometimes, chancy and irregular sometimes

Images of decay; Repetition & contrast?

Spondee

/ / //

“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?” by Shakespeare

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.

1. ow’st – own, possess 2. This – the poem

“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?” by Shakespeare

1st reading: 汝比夏日更美﹐更溫和﹐更長久﹐只要汝長存與我詩中。Poetic device:

Hyperbole: thou grow’st in these eternal lines repetition: Every fair from fair;

See contradictions in the next slide

1) Thou art more lovely and more temperate2) Thy eternal summer

Apparent Contradictions in Stanza 1

1) Summer’s images of beauty (Rough winds vs.) the

darling buds of May every fair from fair

sometime declines

2) Images of transience or violence: Rough winds shakes summer's lease . .. too

short a date too hot the eye of heaven [Sun’s] gold complexion

dimm'd

Actual Similarities and Ambiguities in Stanza 2

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.

As always, the closing couplet is the punch line which not only defines the meaning of the whole poem, but also provides richer meanings.

1. Two “Nor’s” – made possible by the poem; 2. That fair thou ow’st vs. every fair from fair; “ow’st” = grow’st You owe your immortality to this poem

Howard Moss (1922-1987) "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day"

Who says you're like one of the dog days?

You're nicer. And better. Even in May, the weather

can be gray, And a summer sub-let

doesn't last forever.

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

Dog days = ( 三伏天 )Sub-let – 分租 allow some one to rend a room which you are renting from someone else who is the first tenant?

Howard Moss (1922-1987) "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day"

Sometimes the sun's too hot;

Sometimes it is not. Who can stay young forever?

People break their necks or just drop dead!

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd

Howard Moss's "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day"

But you? Never!

If there‘s just one condensed reader left

Who can figure out the abridged alphabet,

After you're dead and gone,

In this poem you'll live on!

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.

Is immortality ever guaranteed? Even literature can be forgotten or ignored.

Condensed: reduced in length, thickened; reader: ( 讀者﹐讀本 ) abridged alphabet （節錄字母﹚– cell phone literature?

That time of year thou mayst in me behold

Sonnet 73

Sonnet 73 THE 1609 QUARTO VERSION

 THat time of yeeare thou maiſt in me behold, When yellow leaues,or none,or fewe doe hange

Vpon thoſe boughes which ſhake againſt the could, Bare rn'wd quiers,where late the ſweet birds ſang. In me thou ſeeſt the twi-light of ſuch day, As after Sun-ſet fadeth in the Weſt, Which by and by blacke night doth take away, Deaths ſecond ſelfe that ſeals vp all in reſt In me thou ſeeſt the glowing of ſuch fire, That on the aſhes of his youth doth lye, As the death bed,whereon it muſt expire,Conſum'd with that which it was nurriſht by.   This thou perceu'ſt,which makes thy loue more ſtrong,   To loue that well,which thou muſt leaue ere long.

Sonnet 73

That time of year thou mayst in me beholdWhen yellow leaves, or none, or few, do

hangUpon those boughs which shake against the

cold,Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds

sang.In me thou seest the twilight of such dayAs after sunset fadeth in the west,Which by and by black night doth take away,Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.

1. Development of imagery; metaphor & similes

2. Sound effects? caesura and spondaic rhythm?

/ /

/ / /

/ / /

Sonnet 73

In me thou see'st the glowing of such fireThat on the ashes of his youth doth lie,As the death-bed whereon it must expireConsumed with that which it was

nourish'd by.This thou perceivest, which makes thy

love more strong,To love that well which thou must leave

ere long.

1. Development of imagery; metaphor & similes

2. Sound effects? caesura and spondaic rhythm?

/ // /

/ // // /

This and that

This: mortality

that = that person, me, the poet. Alternatively - your youth and freshness which is doomed to the same fate.

well - could include a pun on Will, the poet's name. (source)

autumn, A few leaves bare choir

evening Twilight sunset black night and all in rest

extinguishing fire

Fire ashes

How is this poem different from “To His Coy Mistress”?

“That Time of Year” Time and energies –

diminishing I will parish. Time = natural phenomena Ambiguity (love “that”

well)

“To His Coy Mistress” Contrast between lack of

time/space and the imaginary ones

The lady will parish; graphic images of the tomb

Time –wing’d chariot; morning dew, transpiring soul

Enjoy time to the fullest (in sexual terms)

“To His Coy Mistress”

“That Time of Year”

The Renaissance concepts of the duality of microcosm and macrocosm

The speaker places himself in the universe of changes and uses winter/day/fire to parallel the end of his life.

The fire can also be the funereal pyre( 火葬堆 ) where his body is turned to dust.

No witticism of in the play of transient “summer” and “thy eternal summer” (as in “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?”)

Romeo & Juliet

the Courting Sonnet Act I, Scene V

Love at First Sight (I, v, 41-53)

ROMEO [To a Servingman]

What lady is that, which doth enrich the handOf yonder knight?

Servant I know not, sir.

ROMEO

O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!It seems she hangs upon the cheek of nightLike a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear;Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows,As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand,And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight!For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.

TYBALT This, by his voice, should be a Montague.

Seen across a crowded room:

Context – Benvolio (I, i, 226) have brought Romeo to the Masque so that he will see other women, and thus have his mind taken off his obsession Rosalinde – likewise, Capulet has brought Paris there under the same advice (I, ii, 31)

The irony is, therefore, that once they set eyes on each other, they see no-one else – establishing their own personal PRIVATE SPACE within the PUBLIC realm of the masque.

source

ROMEO [To JULIET] If I profane with my unworthiest hand aThis holy shrine, the gentle sin is this: bMy lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand aTo smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. b

JULIET Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, cWhich mannerly devotion shows in this; dFor saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, cAnd palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss. d

ROMEO Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too? e

JULIET Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer. f

ROMEO O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; eThey pray: grant thou, lest faith turn to despair. f

JULIET Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake. g

ROMEO Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. g (kiss)Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.

Act I, v, 92 – 106Metaphors?

JULIET Then have my lips the sin that they have took.ROMEO Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!Give me my sin again.JULIET You kiss by the book.

Act I, v, 92 – 106

Images: religious

1. Romeo -- hands’ and lips’ pilgrimage: Profane: (verb) to treat something sacred, holy,

or special with abuse.  Shrine= Juliet or her hand:  (noun)  a place

where pilgrims visit to pray to and worship a saint. Usually with a statue or relic of a saint.

Pilgrim or Palmer (a person wearing two crossed palm leaves as a sign of pilgrimage to the Holy Land.)

Puns: palm– hand, palm leaves  

Conceit: Extended and Developed Metaphor of pilgrimage and purgation

Juliet’s argument 1. Juliet= a HOLY SHRINE.2. Juliet -- “Good pilgrim” =

Romeo; saint = Juliet; holy palmers’ kiss = palm

to palm 3. Juliet = lips for prayer 4. Saints do not “move” –

initiate things, move. 5. Sin taken6. Kiss by the book (sonnet,

rules, Bible)

Romeo’s argument 1. Romeo’s lips = TWO

BLUSHING PILGRIMS  Romeo’s kiss on her hand =

GENTLE SIN3. Romeo = use lips 4. “O, then, dear saint, let lips

do what hands do;” =

5. kiss sin purged (2nd kiss) sin taken back.

(What’s the sin? Touching her hand)

How is this poem different from “The Flea”?

The Courting Sonnet Religious imagery (pilgrim,

shrine) Kiss – smooth the rough

touch, purge and takes the sin.

The lady – rebukes the argument and then complies with it.

“The Flea” Religious imagery (three in

one, cloister 修道院 ) Flea = sacred union &

marriage and birth The lady – kills the flea,

which is used by the speaker to change and win the argument.

Courtly Love and Courting Sonnets Courtly Love – originated in the court,

the illicit love between a knight and the queen as his lady (e.g. King Arthur’s legends, Tristan and Iseult) , the love which inspires the knight to go on a noble quest.

the Petrarchan tradition of courtly love poetry (Laura) e.g. common paradoxes about courtly love such as "sweet torment" and "shivering at midsummer."

Shakespeare: courting sonnets and sonnets on love, poetry & mortality

The Metaphysical Poetry –witty seduction and platonic love.

Image source