Shall I compare thee – W. Shakespeare Date: Objectives Introduce the poem. Understand the themes of ‘Time’ and ‘Nature’. Warm – up Next slide

Warm-up What is ‘Summer’ to you? Describe it with as many adjectives as possible.

Before we begin William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616) spoke a different version of English from you or I. It is beautiful, romantic and very difficult to understand at first. Beside the poem is a paraphrased version to help. If you quote the paraphrased version to answer a question though, you’ll look very silly. Here we go.

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? By Willam Shakespeare 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 oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal Summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

In other words Shall I compare you to a summer's day? You are more lovely and more constant: Rough winds shake the beloved buds of May And summer is far too short: At times the sun is too hot, Or often goes behind the clouds; And everything beautiful sometime will lose its beauty, By misfortune or by nature's planned out course. But your youth shall not fade, Nor will you lose the beauty that you possess Nor will death claim you for his own, Because in my eternal verse you will live forever So long as there are people on this earth, So long will this poem live on, making you immortal.

Exercise 1: First Impressions Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? By Willam Shakespeare Exercise 1: First Impressions Having read the poem once, write down one sentence in response and share it. Try using: I think, I know, I don’t know, I want to know. 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 oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal Summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

How is she better than a summers day here? Notes – Lines 1-4 Shakespeare starts with a question. He decides however that he will not compare his love with this imperfect season. She is better than summer and he will tell us and her why. Question: How is she better than a summers day here? 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: Shall I compare you to a summer's day? You are more lovely and more constant: Rough winds shake the beloved buds of May And summer is far too short:

He’s making two points or criticisms here. What? Notes – Lines 5-8 This goes against the normal idea for comparisons in poetry. We expect a poet to compare his love to the beauty and wonder of nature but Shakespeare instead criticises nature. This shows how strong he feels about her. Question: He’s making two points or criticisms here. What? Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: At times the sun is too hot, Or often goes behind the clouds; And everything beautiful sometime will lose its beauty, By misfortune or by nature's planned out course.

Notes – Lines 9-14 Question: Shakespeare addresses his love in the second half of the poem again. Compared to summer, she will not be temporary. She will not lose anything. She will live forever as a figure in this poem. Question: How is she immortal? But thy eternal Summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. But your youth shall not fade, Nor will you lose the beauty that you possess Nor will death claim you for his own, Because in my eternal verse you will live forever So long as there are people on this earth, So long will this poem live on, making you immortal.

Questions: Remember “quotes”. Is this a good love poem in your opinion? How does Shakespeare describe summer? What do you think about the language Shakespeare uses?

Homework part 2 Learn the first two stanzas or first eight lines 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 oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? By Willam Shakespeare 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 oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal Summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Part 2

Shall I compare thee 2 – W. Shakespeare Date: Objectives To examine poems using F.l.i.r.t. (F) Form or Structure (L) Language (I) Imagery (R) Rhyme and Rhythm (T) Theme Warm-up next slide

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? By Willam Shakespeare Warm-up exercise 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 oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal Summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. Underline the words that rhyme at the end of each line. How many syl/la/bles are there in each sentence. (After the first three lines, you might notice a pattern.)

Notes – Form or structure This is a sonnet with eight lines posing a question and six lines trying to answer it. It is written in iambic pentameter (10 beats per line), which mimics the rhythm of speech. The poem is very well structure, consistent and controlled. Questions: What is the question and answer in the poem? Do you think Shakespeare is an expert on love and language?

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? By Willam Shakespeare Quick Questions 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 oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal Summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. How would you describe the language of this poem?

Notes – Language The poet uses direct speech. He talks directly to his love who is reading this poem. It is in present tense which adds to the immediacy, intimacy and importance of the poem. Question: Are there any words in the poem you find particularly interesting? Any you have opinions on?

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? By Willam Shakespeare Quick Questions 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 oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal Summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. In the first half of the poem, does the poet do a good job describing summer? Can you imagine any of the images he portrays?

Notes – Images The poet tells us that physical things decay and fade away. We usually see summer as a sign of life and beauty however here it is shown as less than perfect. Only the written word and poetry survive the test of time. Question: How many images do you know that are 400 years old or longer?

Notes – Rhyme and Rhythm Iambic pentameter means that the poem has a fixed rhythm in which an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable. This makes it easier to remember and appear stronger. Question: Does the poem feel controlled and orderly? Is that how love is?

Notes – Theme The poem is about love and time. Shakespeare conveys love as straightforward, simple and all too short. Time is fleeting so every moment counts. These are effective means in convincing someone to enter into a relationship. Did anyone take anything else away from this poem?

Homework Copy the poem into your notes with images beside it. Remember, the point is to help you learn the poem so choose images you see as being linked to the words.

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day? By Willam Shakespeare 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 oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: But thy eternal Summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest; Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou growest: So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.