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Figurative Language In Shakespeare's Sonnet 18

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Life is not an easy journey for most people, and everyone is subject to its effects. Sonnet 18 challenges the inevitability that as a human being, physical death is inescapable with the idea that immortality is possible through the existence of the literary work. The poem emphasizes the infatuation the speaker has with the subject, leading to the comparison of their beauty. The subject’s beauty is so powerful and magnetic that it will outlive their human life through the existence of the poem. Throughout Sonnet 18 are literary devices including figurative language, imagery, versification, and structure that give the poem more strength and value. Through poetic language, form, and imagery, Sonnet 18 addresses the beauty of the subject.
Throughout the sonnet, figurative language is used to analyze the beauty of the subject. “Shall I compare thee to a …show more content…

The sonnet is written in iambic pentameter on purpose. Where words are stressed and unstressed is key in telling what is important to the meaning and interpretation of the sonnet. The first word of the sonnet, “Shall…”, Is stressed not only because it is the first syllable, but because it is a question. If it were not stressed, the emphasis would be on the word “…I…” and the sense would be lost. Furthermore, each quatrain cultivates a progression of images that prove the immortality of the subject’s beauty. While the first quatrain questions whether it is okay to compare their beauty to a summer’s day, the second quatrain goes on to prove how a summer’s day is not as eternal as the subject’s beauty. In the third quatrain, the focus turns back onto the subject, leading into the last two lines where they are immortalized. It is important to note how the quatrains are interwoven through end rhyme as well. The rhyme scheme, ABAB, creates juxtaposition between the subject’s beauty and summer’s

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