Sonnet 18 Metaphore

The piece that I have chosen for this assignment was William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18. At the very first line, it is apparent that the metaphor that he chooses, is a "summer's day," to describe his friend or loved one. For the ease of explanation, I will refer to that person using feminine pronouns, due to the fact that the gender of the person is not explicitly stated; I would believe it is assumed to be female. Through reading the poem a couple of times, I noticed that his choice of words would make it seem as if she is unlike a summer's day, however, at the same time, the words serve their purpose by implying that she is like one as well. Due to that, and what I have yet to explain, I feel that a "summer's day" is the perfect comparison.

In society, there are many different words, places, events, and things that have specific archetypes and characteristics associated with them, i.e. various things that we know, that evoke other relevant thoughts or feelings. Some of these things are primarily associated with archetypes and characteristics that are positive, while others will be primarily associated with that of negative. Taking summer, for instance, many people would associate it with rest, relaxation, the beaches, clear skies, good weather, relief from stress and responsibility, and so on, leading them to believe that the primary characteristics of summer are positive. However, simply because one would consider that the primary characteristics are positive, does not mean that they should dismiss the characteristics that would be perceived as negative. Some people believe that summer doesn't last long enough, and, as we progress further through life, we realize that our responsibilities are year-round, and our illusion of rest and relaxation, is simply an illusion. We also know that summer doesn't guarantee perfect weather, and even if the weather is what one would consider to be perfect, at times, the heat is unbearable.

It would be safe to say then, that Shakespeare realizes that many people associate summer with positive characteristics in the first line of his poem, yet immediately begins to challenge that in the second line: "Thou