Commentary Query Essay

Opinion Essay: Which of the sonnets do you think expresses the strongest commitment to a lover relationship” Write a 3 paragraph essay explaining your opinion with supporting from the Sonnets.


Shakespeare’s most important topic was always love and when reading his sonnets love is the one topic that always shows. Now love has its ups and downs and Shakespeare was not in denial of that, therefore writes about the good and bad parts of love. "Sonnet 18" expresses the strongest commitment to a lover relationship because of the way he writes about his other half. He doesn’t use silly teenage words to tell this person he loves her, rather he uses enriching lines that would make one imagine that the person who this was composed for would melt. From the beginning of the poem, he starts off by comparing her to a summer’s day which sets the mood of this sonnet, giving you happy thoughts of the part of the year you most look forward to. “You are more lovely and more temperate” (Sonnet 18, Line 2). This second line of the sonnet keeps complimenting her and giving her more reason to be on cloud nine.

As the sonnet progresses, the speaker goes into realization and starts speaking of how good things come to an end (the good thing being her beauty).

“And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade”
(18: Lines 7 8 9).

However he quickly goes into how her youth and beauty will always be eternal to him and whatever she loses with age he will always look at her the same way he has always looked at her. The speaker writes that nature won't take her beauty away. Once you accept that there will be change within a person and you accept it rather than try to change it, a strong commitment within the two people is formed.
Not only does the speaker promise his lady’s beauty to remain unchanged within him, but he now promises her it will be immortal.

“When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee”
(18: 12. 13.14).

Here he tells her that with his few words, he will immortalize her beauty and everyone shall know about her. Now every person desires youth and beauty for eternity, however that cannot be accomplished, so the speaker does the next best thing: Immortalizes her in a sonnet. He not only declares his love for her but gives her what every woman wants, eternal youth and beauty. This is by far the strongest commitment to a lover because of the promises it holds and the happiness it brings to the other person.