Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Cultural  

1. The first line of a sonnet by William Shakespeare. The poet notes that beautiful days and seasons do not last but declares that his love's “eternal summer shall not fade” because his poem makes his love immortal: “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

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Example Sentences

Lord Cashman, a friend of O'Grady's, told BBC Radio Kent he would read Shakespeare's Sonnet 18, which begins "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"

From BBC

He woos Jewels not just by reciting “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” but also by bragging about his Black Lives Matter chants.

From New York Times

Number 18 — which begins, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” — leads, in effect, to the conclusion, “You’re pretty, but you’re going to die, and this poem will live forever.”

From Washington Post

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

From Washington Post

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” he asks her at one point.

From New York Times