Sonnet 18, Translated Line by Line
from Shakespearean Translator Hosted by Shakespearean Translator
Shakespeare's most famous sonnet, explained line by line in plain modern English. In this episode: 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' — what 'thee,' 'thou art,' 'hath,' and 'ere' actually mean, and the poem's real argument: everything beautiful fades, except what poetry preserves. Key vocabulary covered: thee (you, object form), thou art (you are), hath (has), thy (your), wherefore (why), anon (soon). For the full written guide with a side-by-side translation, use our free shakespeare translator tool — paste any passage and get instant modern English, or translate Shakespeare to modern English line by line. Also see ShakespeareanTranslator.com for the complete Shakespearean dictionary. Made by a teacher. New episodes take on one famous passage at a time.
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