Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day

-          William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

This is one of the 154 sonnets that Shakespeare wrote in the name of his mysterious beloved Dark Lady. In this sonnet, the Dark Lady is claimed to be more beautiful than the summer’s day.

The speaker asks the Dark Lady whether he shall compare her with a summer’s day. He says she is more beautiful than the summer’s day. Strong winds that blow in the summer time shake the buds off the branches. The enjoyment that a summer’s day provides is too short. Sometimes the sun shines too hot. Many a time the clouds block the sunlight and the beauty of the moment is lost. The natural process of climate change often affects the beauty of a summer’s day. But the beauty of the Dark Lady never fades. The Death himself cannot be proud of killing her because she is going to be immortal along the lines of the sonnet.