Cedric2008  +  623256 Sat, 27 Dec 08 08:36 AM Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?    Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,    And summer's lease hath all too short a date: My paraphrase: Should I compare you to a summer's day?  No, I shouldn't for several reasons. firstly,  you are more lovely and temperate than a summer's day; secondly, summer of May is not gentle in fact for the wind of the may is so rough that it will ruin the darling buds. lastly, the summer is too short? what is meant by "lease" here?  Thank you! Cedric2008 Joined on Thu, Apr 10 2008 New Member 34 Dates, Summer

	Avangi  +  623268 Sat, 27 Dec 08 08:50 AM A lease is an agreement which allows you to stay until a certain date. Just as an aside, "temperate" is not a word which is understood in this context by the modern ear/brain.   We understand "the temperate zone," but we rarely think about what it means. Beautiful English, that last line   -   very Englishy. Avangi Joined on Mon, Nov 19 2007 Veteran Member 8,172 ". . . le plaisir delicieux et toujours nouveau d'une occupation inutile." - Henri de Regnier Dates, Context, Countries, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Languages