Sonnet 18 - William Shakespeare

What collection of poetry would be complete without at least one of Shakespeare's sonnets? Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day? is more a contrast to a summer's day. He lists the downsides of summer, then tells his love (it is assumed that is who the poem refers to) that her eternal summer would never fade as the summer itself does. Not even in death. Why? Because he has immortalized her in the poem. We may not know who he wrote it to, but even today, her memory lives on, just as he said, because we know that somewhere in history's pages lived a woman who inspired William Shakespeare thus.

"Sonnet 18." Narrated by an anonymous speaker. Online audio clip. Classic Poetry Aloud. http://classicpoetryaloud.podomatic.com. Accessed 3 May 2012.