Question

Please help me I'm not doing homework but research on Shakespeare's sonnet
Shall I Compare Thee To a Summer's day? Why does Shakespeare refute his claim?

Answer 1

I'm not sure what "claim" you're referring to, but here are some places where you can research S's sonnets:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare's_sonnets
Read the whole article, including the 2nd paragraph, carefully. Also check out all the External Links at the bottom of this webpage.

http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/shakesonnets/section1.html
and
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/shakesonnets/section3.rhtml

http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/bin/litcrit.out.pl?au=sha-9
Many articles in here to read.

Answer 2

I read all the articles and I still don't fully understand.

Answer 3

I don't either because I don't know what "claim" of Shakespeare's you're referring to.

Answer 4

The question on my research paper asks "What does Shakespeare then say he refutes the claim?"

Answer 5

Shakespeare asks the title question, and then describes summer as ephemeral and less than ideal. Near the end, he states that the object of the poem is perfect.

"So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee."

http://www.william-shakespeare.info/william-shakespeare-sonnet-18.htm

Answer 6

2.In Shakespeare’s day, poets often made extravagant claims about the person they loved. What extravagant claim is made at the start of this poem?