Citaten uit Sonnet 18

6 beroemde regels uit Sonnet 18 (1609) van William Shakespeare, woord voor woord, met bij elke regel de betekenis en herkomst.

1 min leestijd · 14 regels

1. 1

   Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
   Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

   Betekenis: The poet considers comparing the beloved to summer but finds the beloved more beautiful and less changeable.

   The poetStrofe 1, regels 1 tot en met 2Kopiëren
2. 2

   Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
   And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:

   Betekenis: Summer is imperfect because strong winds damage its flowers and its pleasant season ends too soon.

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3. 3

   And every fair from fair sometime declines,
   By chance, or nature’s changing course untrimm’d:

   Betekenis: Everything beautiful eventually loses its beauty through accidents or the natural passage of time.

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4. 4

   But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
   Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st,

   Betekenis: The poet promises that the beloved’s beauty will remain unchanged through preservation in verse.

   The poetStrofe 1, regels 9 tot en met 10Kopiëren

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5. 5

   Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
   When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st,

   Betekenis: Death cannot fully claim the beloved because the poem will preserve their presence across time.

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6. 6

   So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
   So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

   Betekenis: As long as people remain alive to read the poem, it will keep the beloved’s memory alive.

   The poetStrofe 1, regels 13 tot en met 14Kopiëren

Vragen over deze regels

Why does Shakespeare compare the beloved to a summer’s day in Sonnet 18?

Summer offers a familiar image of warmth and beauty, but its harsh weather and short duration make it inferior to the beloved.

What do the last two lines of Sonnet 18 mean?

The poet claims that the beloved will survive through the poem for as long as people can read it. Poetry offers lasting remembrance rather than literal escape from death.