In Sonnet 18, William Shakespeare expresses his admiration for a beloved person. The poet intends to compare the beauty of the latter with the beauty of the summer days. Shakespeare commences by describing that although summer can bring people joy and happiness, it nevertheless lasts only for a short period of time. Instead, the writer states, “But thy eternal summer shall not fade,” implying that his poem would eternalize the beauty of his loved one so that neither time nor death can destroy it. Thus, this line represents a turning point in the poem, which helps understand Shakespeare’s deeper meaning.
In my opinion, at its core, the poet compared the powers of nature with the power of the human mind and heart. As such, summer, like any season, lasts for a short period of time. There is no mechanism in nature that would allow saving the memories of a particular moment or state. In this sense, the environment can only exist in the present moment. On the other hand, human beings can remember events, people, or places and relive certain experiences many times over a long period. Moreover, when people are in love and can express themselves on paper or by any other means, their memories can become immortal and exist “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see.” Therefore, metaphorically speaking, people can make the summer never end if they would wish to.
However, the meaning mentioned above would not be conveyed that successfully if the poet also did not appeal to the audience’s feelings. Shakespeare used various images of flowers and the summer sun to evoke the most positive emotions in the readers. Then, the writer mentions that everything tends to fade and discontinue. Finally, he finishes with the notion that a person’s love can outlive his generation and live forever. This, in turn, sets the audience in a romantic mood and makes them believe that there are indeed elements in this world that cannot be degraded due to time.