Question

which of the following best describes the function of \time\ in the following poem, sonnet 18 by william shakespeare? 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 owst; nor shall death brag thou wanderst in his shade, when in eternal lines to time thou growst: so long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee. a) the speaker declares that his beloveds loveliness will live on forever through his poetry, unlike the short - lived summer season. b) the speaker laments the fleeting nature of summer, as it is his favorite season and he wishes its warmth and brightness could last longer. c) the speaker admits that although his beloveds beauty will fade with time, his love will not fade.

Explanation:

In the poem, the speaker contrasts the fleeting nature of summer (which is affected by time - rough winds, short duration, etc.) with his beloved. He says "But thy eternal summer shall not fade" and "So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee". Here, "this" refers to the poem. So the idea is that through the poem (which can last as long as people can read it), his beloved's loveliness will be immortalized, while summer (a symbol of natural beauty that is subject to time's passage) is short - lived.

Answer:

A. The speaker declares that his beloved's loveliness will live on forever through his poetry, unlike the short - lived summer season.