This is one of many of Shakespeare's sonnets that is in
praise of the speaker's love. The speaker starts off with a question, which gives the
sonnet its title, and then it is followed by a series of negative answers, as the poet
declares reasons why he shouldn't compare his love to a summer's day, because his love
is more beautiful than this. The speaker's beloved does bear some resemblances to a
summer's day, but only superficial ones. The first two quatrains concentrate
on the summer day's imperfections rather than on the loved one. Thus we are told that at
times, rough winds shake the buds of summer and also summer is too short. Also, the sun
during summer is much too hot at times or it is overcast by clouds. All of these are
reasons why the speaker rejects comparing his love to a summer
day.
Then, in line 9, comes the turn or shift in focus or
thought. The speaker turns from the faulty summer's day to the beloved, and by the end
of the third quatrain, the speaker has entirely abandoned the opening comparison.
Compared to faulty summer, the "eternal summer" or beauty of the loved one will "not
fade". Also, this loved one can really never die, as thanks to Shakespeare, they have
immortality in verse.
In Shakespeare's sonnets, the last
couplet is often a second turn of great impact, acting as a final summary or explanation
of all that came before. In this sonnet the couplet says, perhaps with some
exaggeration, that by being addressed in this poem, the beloved person has become
immortal.
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