become contrasts. The following chart lists the contrasts made throughout the octet:
A Summer's Day |
The Young Man |
Lovely |
More Lovely |
Temperate (Calm) |
More Temperate (Calmer) |
Occasional Rough Winds |
No Rough Winds (always gentle) |
Lasts Only a Short Time |
Lasts for a Long Time |
Occasionally Too Hot ("eye of heaven" is the sun) |
Never Hot (or hot- tempered) |
Sometimes Cloudy |
Never Cloudy (moody) |
Objects of Beauty Fade ("fair" means beautiful object) |
Beauty Remains |
In these seven ways, then, the young man is superior to a summer's day. In this way, the speaker is proclaiming that the beauty of the young man surpasses all of the beauty of nature. In a way, Shakespeare is also surpassing other love poets. Other love poets may compare the beauty of their subjects (their ladies) to nature. But by stating that the beauty of his subject (the young man) is superior to nature, the poet is also stating that the beauty of the young man surpasses the beauty of any of the ladies who were compared to nature.