This poem also has the uniquely English twist of a concluding rhyming couplet that partially sums up and partially redefines what came before it. Here Shakespeare switches from bashing the summer to describing the immortality of his beloved. Just as in older Italian sonnets by which the English sonnets (later to be called Shakespearean sonnets) were inspired, the ninth line introduces a significant change in tone or position. The form of this sonnet is also notable for being a perfect model of the Shakespearean sonnet form. There are two quatrains (groups of four lines), followed by a third quatrain in which the tone of the poem shifts a bit, which is in turn followed by a rhyming couplet (two lines) that wraps the poem up. There aren’t even any lines that flow over into the next line – every single line is end-stopped.

With the exception of a couple relatively strong first syllables (and even these are debatable), there are basically no deviations from the meter.

This is a classic Shakespearean sonnet with fourteen lines in very regular iambic pentameter.

A Shakespearean Sonnet in Iambic Pentameter