# Reading > Poems, Poets, and Poetry >  Howard Moss "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?" Analysis?

## bco1621

Hello,

Can somebody please help me understand this poem a little better? I am not grasping it too well...

Who says you're like one of the dog days? 
You're nicer. And better. 
Even in May, the weather can be gray, 
And a summer sub-let doesn't last forever. 
Sometimes the sun's too hot; 
Sometimes it is not. 
Who can stay young forever? 
People break their necks or just drop dead! 
But you? Never! 
If there's just one condensed reader left 
Who can figure out the abridged alphabet, 
After you're dead and gone, 
In this poem you'll live on!

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## Risa

*William Shakespeare - Sonnet 18*

_Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
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._

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## Risa

Hi bco1621,

I'm a new user to this literature network forum. I come from Malaysia and do not expert in English literature but i'll try to help you. 

*First Quatrain*

_Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date;_

*Literal Meaning*

Upon comparing his beloved to a summer's day, he finally decides that his beloved is more beautiful. He finally decides that his beloved is much pretty than the darling buds of May which is easily destroyed by winds.

*Figurative Meaning*

The poet's beloved is more beautiful than a summer day. In the month of May, the weather can be bad. Strong winds could easily blow the buds of the plants and trees.

_To be continued _

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