Question

long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

1. what is the meaning of the metaphor: \but thy eternal summer shall not fade\?

a. his love has died, and he is comparing her memory to a beautiful summer.
b. he believes that the summer is more beautiful than his love.
c. his love’s beauty is youthful and will never dim.
d. he believes that his love will live forever.

sonnet 130 by william shakespeare
my mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun; coral
is far more red than her lips’ red;
if snow be white, why then her breasts are dun; if
hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head. i have
seen roses damask’d, red and white,
but no such roses see i in her cheeks;
and in some perfumes is there more delight than in
the breath that from my mistress reeks. i love to
hear her speak, yet well i know
that music hath a far more pleasing sound; i
grant i never saw a goddess go;
my mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground; and
yet, by heaven, i think my love as rare
as any she belied with false compare.

Explanation:

To determine the meaning of the metaphor “But thy eternal summer shall not fade”, we analyze each option:

• Option a: The sonnet does not indicate his love has died; it focuses on her beauty, so a is incorrect.
• Option b: The sonnet emphasizes his love's uniqueness, not that summer is more beautiful, so b is incorrect.
• Option c: “Eternal summer” metaphorically represents his love's beauty as youthful and unchanging (never dim), which aligns with the sonnet's theme of her beauty being rare and true.
• Option d: The metaphor is about her beauty (summer - like) not fading, not directly about his love “living forever” in a general sense, so d is less accurate.

Answer:

c. His love’s beauty is youthful and will never dim.