Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 & Fundamentals of Poetry

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, devices, and concepts from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and general poetry fundamentals.

Sonnet 18

A Shakespearean sonnet beginning “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” that praises the beloved’s beauty and grants it immortality through verse.

Shakespearean Sonnet

A 14-line lyric poem in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

Quatrain

A stanza of four lines; a Shakespearean sonnet contains three quatrains followed by a couplet.

Couplet

Two consecutive rhyming lines that usually present a conclusion; ends a Shakespearean sonnet.

Iambic Pentameter

The meter of Shakespeare’s sonnets—five iambs per line, totaling ten syllables.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things without using “like” or “as.”

"Eye of heaven"

Metaphor in Sonnet 18 that likens the sun to an all-seeing eye.

"Eternal summer"

Metaphor in Sonnet 18 signifying the beloved’s unfading beauty.

Personification

Giving human qualities to non-human entities, e.g., “Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade.”

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds; used for musical effect in line 7 of Sonnet 18.

Lyric Poem

Short verse that expresses the personal emotions or thoughts of a single speaker.

Narrative Poem

Poetry whose primary purpose is to tell a story.

Dramatic Poem

Verse presented as speech by characters, blending elements of drama and poetry.

Edgar Allan Poe’s Definition of Poetry

“The rhythmical creation of beauty in words.”

Rhyme Scheme

The ordered pattern of end-rhymes in a poem; Sonnet 18 follows ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.

Sense (element of poetry)

The meaning or message conveyed by a poem’s language and imagery.

Sound (element of poetry)

The auditory qualities—rhyme, meter, alliteration—that make poems meant to be heard.

Structure (element of poetry)

The formal arrangement of lines, stanzas, and overall organization of a poem.

Persona

The voice or speaker adopted by the poet, not necessarily the poet themselves.

Immortality Through Poetry

Theme in Sonnet 18 asserting that beauty lives forever within the poem’s lines.