In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, often referred to by its opening line, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”, the concept of ‘eternal summer’ represents an unchanging and everlasting beauty. The phrase captures the idea that while a typical summer day may be beautiful, it is fleeting and subject to change. In contrast, the “eternal summer” suggests a beauty that transcends time and is preserved through the poem itself.
The poet argues that the beloved’s beauty surpasses the transient qualities of a summer’s day, which can be marred by the heat or the winds. However, through the written word, the beloved’s beauty is immortalized, enabling it to endure beyond the physical constraints of nature. Ultimately, eternal summer in the poem symbolizes the lasting power of poetry to preserve the essence of beauty forever.