QQuestionEnglish
QuestionEnglish
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
—“Sonnet 18,” William Shakespeare
In the first quatrain, the speaker is comparing:
A. summer and winter.
B. his beloved and a summer day.
C. spring flowers and the wind.
D. a date and a summer day.
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Answer
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Step 1:Let's solve this poetry analysis problem step by step:
Step 2:: Carefully read the given quatrain from Shakespeare's Sonnet 18
The quatrain reads: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date."
Step 3:: Identify the key elements of comparison
- The speaker is directly asking if he can compare "thee" (his beloved) to a summer's day - He immediately suggests that his beloved is superior to a summer day
Step 4:: Analyze the comparison
- The speaker compares his beloved to a summer's day - He notes that his beloved is "more lovely and more temperate" - He points out the imperfections of summer (rough winds, short duration)
Step 5:: Evaluate the given options
A. summer and winter - Incorrect B. his beloved and a summer day - Correct C. spring flowers and the wind - Incorrect D. a date and a summer day - Incorrect
Final Answer
The speaker is comparing his beloved to a summer day, suggesting that his beloved is more beautiful and constant than the fleeting nature of a summer day. The key is the opening line "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" which directly sets up the comparison between the beloved and the summer day.
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