When reading a poem, it is important to have the right mindset and approach to truly appreciate it. In the case of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”, readers should approach it with an open and appreciative mindset, admiring the beauty portrayed within the lines. The poem’s opening line sets the tone of curiosity and admiration, with readers wondering about the subject of the poem and why the speaker is so keen on comparing them to a summer’s day. As the reader continues through the poem, it’s important to pay attention to the structure and language used to fully appreciate its depth and meaning. The line “But thy eternal summer shall not fade” (line 9) truly caught my eye, and as I kept rereading the line, I realized it was a metaphor, which is a technique used by the poet to convey the timeless beauty of the subject. Rereading and carefully examining this line made me understand better how the poem shows love as something that lasts like the enduring aspects of nature. In summary, when I read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, I realized that having the right mindset, like being curious or appreciative, and knowing how to spot and understand metaphors, was extremely important to fully understand and appreciate this poem.
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2 thoughts on “Kevin Lam’s Discussion 4”
Hello Kevin, I really enjoyed this week’s discussion board you posted. I like how you break down on how to read a poem. Being able to give an example and show us how certain words you pointed out made you understand what the quote was trying to say. I also agree with what you said. I do believe one needs an open mind and being able to have the skills to try to read a poem to better understand what the author is writing.
Great analysis Kevin. I appreciated your ability to mine the truth of the metaphor in the sonnet of nature as love. Interestingly enough this took me quite a few rereads as well-I wouldn’t say Im the best at reading and understanding poetry regardless of the poet. I would absolutely agree that your mindset is important when reading poetry, as often I found myself being frustrated when reading some of the sonnets and poems and failing to gain any semblance of understanding as to what it was about. Thus my frustration would lead to a closed mind as I dismissed the sonnet or poem as something not worth my time to read and I had to reread, reread, and reread until I figured it out.