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
which statement is the most accurate and complete objective summary of the poem?
a. the poet compares the object of his affections to the beauty of a summers day, but he expresses concerns that she will one day wither and die as all mortal things do, so he promises her that she will live on forever in the verses of his poetry.
b. the poet compares the object of his affections to the beauty of a summers day, but he implies that she may be shaken by rough winds, so he promises to continue to care about her, even in the infirmity of advanced age.
c. the poet compares the object of his affections to a summers day, but he admits that she will one day wither, so he tells her that he will describe her as she ages in his poetry for people in the future to know her long after her death.
d. the poet compares the object of his affections to a summers day, but he expresses his concerns that she will one day age and die as all mortals do, so he decides to leave her before her inevitable decline into death.

Explanation:

The poem "Sonnet 18" by William Shakespeare compares the object of the poet's affection to a summer's day. The poet points out that summer has flaws like rough winds, short duration, and variable weather. But the beloved's beauty is eternal. The poet says that as long as people can read (men can breathe or eyes can see), the poem (eternal lines) will keep the beloved's beauty alive. Option A correctly captures the comparison, the concerns about mortality (like summer's flaws which imply human mortality), and the promise of immortality through poetry. Option B is wrong as the "rough winds" are about summer's flaws not the beloved being shaken. Option C's "describe her as she ages" is incorrect - the poem is about her beauty not fading. Option D's "decides to leave her" is not in the poem.

Answer:

A. The poet compares the object of his affections to the beauty of a summer's day, but he expresses concerns that she will one day wither and die as all mortal things do, so he promises her that she will live on forever in the verses of his poetry.