Question

read the passage and answer the following question(s).
sonnet 18
shall i compare thee to a summers day?
thou art more lovely and more temperate:
rough winds do shake the darling buds of may,
and summers lease hath all too short a date:
sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
and often is his gold complexion dimmd,
and every fair from fair sometime declines,
by chance or natures changing course untrimmd;
but thy eternal summer shall not fade
nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
nor shall death brag thou wanderst in his shade,
when in eternal lines to time thou growest:
so long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
so long lives this and this gives life to thee.
william shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
public domain
why does the author use the metaphor of seasons throughout the poem?
a. the author uses the metaphor of seasons to reflect the passing of time because the summer heat and rough winds wither the flower of youth in the poem.
b. the author uses the metaphor of seasons in the poem to describe how his love will die by one day succumbing to the chill of winter as they both age.
c. the author uses the metaphor of seasons to describe how their love is encased in an eternal springtime because it will continue to grow every day.
d. the author uses the metaphor of seasons to describe how his love grows more beautiful as she ages, like leaves turning to red and gold in autumn.

Explanation:

In the poem, the author contrasts the transient nature of seasons (summer's heat, rough winds, short - lived beauty) with the eternal nature of the subject's beauty. The lines "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May. And summer's lease hath all too short a date" show the passing of time and the fleeting nature of youth (associated with summer). The metaphor of seasons is used to reflect the passage of time as the "flower of youth" (like summer) is withered by the elements (rough winds, too - hot sun etc.).

Answer:

A. The author uses the metaphor of seasons to reflect the passing of time because the summer heat and rough winds wither the flower of youth in the poem.