Language

Style of writing

The language of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” may seem complicated at first. Overall, the style and tone of the poem is formal. It praises the young man in an almost exaggerated manner while also showing off the skills of the poet (the speaker). 

Furthermore, the style of writing is characterized by adjectives and old pronouns.

Descriptive adjectives

The sonnet features several adjectives, which underline emotional qualities: “Thou art more lovely and more temperate: / Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May” (ll. 2-3). Here, adjectives are used to create a clear comparison between the young man and a summer’s day, painting the young man in a much more positive light than the summer’s day. 

Old pronoun forms

The sonnet’s use of the old pronoun forms “thou”, “thee”, and “thy” indicate the intimate relationship between the speaker and the one he addresses. In Shakespeare’s day, there were two pronoun forms: “thou” was informal an...