william Shakespeare Sonnet no 18 friend name?
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In Sonnet 18 Shakespeare addresses his own immortal soul, alluded to in the ascription to him of having an "eternall Sommer," being forever young and alive. The poet seeks to make this true on earth as well by his praise of him "in eternall lines to time," lines which will keep the sense of him alive and vital on earth as long as there are people to read of them in this sonnet.
If this view seems outlandish, also outlandish will appear the view that the mysterious "dark lady" is none other than his lower soul, the part of man that seeks the fulfillment and gratification of man's human, physical nature -- the perishable part of him. Since the poet craves to ascend spiritually, he is chagrined that his lower soul again and again pulls him down to earth -- the very human condition celebrated throughout the sonnets.
Both sides are necessary for if we seek only our physical gratification, we become as beasts. But, likewise, if we aspire too high spiritually, we fail to reproduce (as in the 17 earlier sonnets) or to protect our human selves. Shakespeare regards both personifications in his sonnets as "angel's" and "friends" -- see Sonnet 144 -- and a well lived life as a coming to a balance between these two aspirations.