Structure
Sonnet 18 is a typical English or Shakespearean sonnet. It consists of three quatrains followed by a couplet, and has the characteristic rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg. The poem carries the meaning of an Italian or Petrarchan Sonnet. Petrarchan sonnets typically discussed the love and beauty of a beloved, often an unattainable love, but not always. It also contains a volta, or shift in the poem's subject matter, beginning with the third quatrain.
| Stress | 8_ | / | 8_ | / | 8_ | / | 8_ | / | 8_ | / |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syllable | Thou | art | more | love- | ly | and | more | temp- | pe- | rate |
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