Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

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BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

I think this line has two figure of speech

The first is interrogation, because the author is asking a question without an expectation to have an
answer but to emphasize the characteristics of his beloved.

The second is a metaphor, because the author is comparing the beauty and the youth of his beloved
with the delightful summer day.

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Here the word “art” is a metaphorical impression to explain the characteristics (lovely and temperate) of
the beloved.

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

“Rough winds do shake” here the poet gives human characteristics to the wind, therefore this is an
example of personification.

“darling bud” is a metaphor. Here darling bud refers to a flower that blooms around the month of May.

And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;

I could not find any figure of speech here.

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

“The eye of heaven shines” is a metaphorical word for the sun

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;

His gold complexion dimmed is an indication of personification, because the author is mentioning the
sun as a human figure.

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;

These two lines support the metaphorical idea used in the next line. The poet is trying to say that,
objective beauty fades away from time to time and nothing in nature is permanent, But time cannot
change the ever green heart of his beloved.

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Eternal summer is a metaphor to the inner beauty of his beloved. Also the author is comparing this idea
of summer to his beloved (thy means your) which leads us to believe that this is a personification.

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;

I could not find any figure of speech here.

Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,

The poet personifies death by calling it a person and claiming that he (death) will never touch his
beloved.

When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:

The word eternal is an example of hyperbole, as it is exaggerating the idea of time.

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

In this line the poet is giving an exaggeration statement, hence this is a hyperbole

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

The poet then gives life to her (his beloved) through this (the poem) and claims she will remain immortal
on the page. So, the poet gives life to a non-human object. So, this is an example of personification.
Answer:

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? [rhetorical question]

Thou art more lovely and more temperate: [repetition]
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,[personification]
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date; [personification]
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines[ metaphor]
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; [personification, metaphor]
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade, [metaphor]
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade, [personification]
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, [hyperbole]
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. [alliteration]