Shakespeares Sonnets :: William Shakespeare

There has been some dispute whether or not the sonnets are actually written by William Shakespeare,the strongest argument for this is the phrase BY.OVR.EVERLIVING.POET., in which some, the most notable being the entertainment lawyer and author Bertram Fields, argue that this would mean the author would be dead by 1609, while William Shakespeare lived until 1616.1The 154 numberss were most in all probability written over a period of several years and published in the 1609 collection.These were all in sonnet form and previously unpublished, with the exception of poem number 138 and 144 which had been part of The Passionate Pilgrim, released in 1599.Sonnets 18-126 tell the story of young man and the poets admiration and fare for him, while 127-152 are addressed to the poets mistress. In this essay we will look at sonnets 18, 116 and 130 and what they say about love, and see if they share similarities with each other.2Sonnet XVIII (18)Sonnet 18 speaks of love in its purest form it is obvious that the author has great admiration for the person the sonnet is addressed to, giving the subject an almost god-like and eternal status.If we look at the two first linesShall I compare thee to a summers day?Thou art more lovely and more temperate.It is clear that he cannot purpose a summers day as a comparison, because the person is better than a summers day.He goes on to explain how a summers day is not perfect, saying that testy winds do shake the darling buds of May and And summers lease hath all to short a date. This is believed to mean that even a summers day has its faults, in the pay back of summer on that point can be rough storms that distort the beauty of darling buds and summer does not last for ever.At the end of the sonnet there are some very important lines, which speak of eternal life and beautyBut thy eternal summer shall not fade,Nor lose possession of that fine thou owst,nor shall death brag thou wanderst in his shadeThis can be seen as a promise that he will never break down and be forgotten, nor will he lose the beauty which he owns. The last line could be a biblical reference Yea, though I fling through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me3, even though death has taken him, his beauty will glow like a beacon and light up any shade death may have cast upon him, and then giving eternal life.