Here is a set of MCQs with answers from Shakespeare's sonnet Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?:

1. What is the theme of the poem Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day??

a) The beauty of nature
b) The permanence of poetry
c) The inevitability of aging
d) The fleeting nature of love
Answer: b) The permanence of poetry

2. How does the speaker describe the subject’s beauty in comparison to summer?

a) Equal to summer's beauty
b) More lovely and more temperate
c) Less vibrant and fading
d) Unchanging and eternal like summer
Answer: b) More lovely and more temperate

3. What does the phrase "summer’s lease hath all too short a date" mean?

a) Summer days are too long.
b) Summer lasts for only a brief time.
c) Summer is the perfect season.
d) Summer has unpredictable weather.
Answer: b) Summer lasts for only a brief time.

4. In the line "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May," what do "rough winds" symbolize?

a) Gentle breezes
b) Challenges and changes in life
c) The passing of time
d) The end of spring
Answer: b) Challenges and changes in life

5. According to the poet, what quality makes the subject superior to a summer’s day?

a) Their eternal youth
b) Their temperance and beauty
c) Their ability to withstand time
d) Their connection to nature
Answer: b) Their temperance and beauty

6. How does the poet propose to immortalize the subject’s beauty?

a) Through a painting
b) By dedicating a garden to them
c) Through the verses of the sonnet
d) By comparing them to eternal elements
Answer: c) Through the verses of the sonnet

7. What does the poet mean by “Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade”?

a) Death will not claim the subject’s life.
b) The subject will live forever in the poem.
c) The subject is immune to aging.
d) Death is powerless over beauty.
Answer: b) The subject will live forever in the poem.

8. What is the effect of the couplet at the end of the sonnet?

a) It summarizes the poet’s argument.
b) It introduces a new theme.
c) It describes the beauty of summer.
d) It questions the permanence of love.
Answer: a) It summarizes the poet’s argument.

9. What does the line "So long as men can breathe or eyes can see" imply?

a) The poem will endure as long as humanity exists.
b) The subject’s beauty will fade over time.
c) The natural world will outlast human creations.
d) Summer is eternal in human memory.
Answer: a) The poem will endure as long as humanity exists.

10. Which literary device is predominantly used in the poem?

a) Hyperbole
b) Metaphor
c) Simile
d) Personification
Answer: b) Metaphor

11. What is the rhyme scheme of Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day??

a) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
b) ABBA CDDC EFFE GG
c) AABB CCDD EEFF GG
d) ABA BAB ABB ABA
Answer: a) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

12. What is the tone of the poem?

a) Melancholic
b) Romantic and celebratory
c) Ironic and critical
d) Somber and reflective
Answer: b) Romantic and celebratory

13. What does the line "But thy eternal summer shall not fade" signify?

a) The subject’s beauty will last longer than summer.
b) The subject’s youth will never diminish.
c) The subject’s essence will live forever in the poem.
d) Summer will always remind the poet of the subject.
Answer: c) The subject’s essence will live forever in the poem.

14. What does the word "eternal lines" refer to in the sonnet?

a) The subject’s wrinkles
b) The lines of the poem
c) The rays of the summer sun
d) The marks of aging
Answer: b) The lines of the poem

15. How does the poem portray the idea of immortality?

a) By claiming beauty never fades.
b) By asserting that poetry can preserve memory.
c) By comparing beauty to summer.
d) By suggesting death is powerless.
Answer: b) By asserting that poetry can preserve memory.

16. Who is the speaker addressing in the poem?

a) A beloved person
b) Nature itself
c) Time and death
d) An abstract idea of beauty
Answer: a) A beloved person

17. What is the purpose of the comparison to a summer’s day?

a) To show the beloved’s flaws
b) To highlight the beloved’s superiority
c) To suggest that nature is perfect
d) To prove the brevity of life
Answer: b) To highlight the beloved’s superiority

18. What does the poet criticize about summer?

a) Its excessive heat and unpredictability
b) Its lasting beauty
c) Its connection to human emotions
d) Its association with love
Answer: a) Its excessive heat and unpredictability

19. Why does the poet claim his beloved will not fade?

a) Because of their eternal youth
b) Because poetry will preserve their memory
c) Because they are immune to time
d) Because of their beauty’s perfection
Answer: b) Because poetry will preserve their memory

20. What is the overall message of the poem?

a) Nature is imperfect but beautiful.
b) Love is eternal and unchanging.
c) Poetry has the power to grant immortality.
d) Time cannot be defeated.
Answer: c) Poetry has the power to grant immortality.

21. What does the word “temperate” in the second line mean?

a) Fiery and passionate
b) Mild and restrained
c) Cold and indifferent
d) Wild and unpredictable
Answer: b) Mild and restrained

22. Why is the subject’s beauty compared to summer in the poem?

a) Because summer represents flaws
b) Because summer is unpredictable like beauty
c) Because summer is considered a season of perfection and vitality
d) Because summer symbolizes fleeting emotions
Answer: c) Because summer is considered a season of perfection and vitality

23. What does the poet imply by “every fair from fair sometime declines”?

a) Beauty is fleeting and fades over time.
b) Everything beautiful becomes perfect.
c) Nature always improves beauty.
d) Beauty is subjective and changes perspective.
Answer: a) Beauty is fleeting and fades over time.

24. What causes “every fair” to decline, according to the poem?

a) The changing of seasons
b) Nature’s unpredictability
c) Time and chance
d) The poet’s perspective
Answer: c) Time and chance

25. What is the effect of the poet’s use of the phrase “thy eternal summer”?

a) It suggests that the beloved’s beauty will fade slowly.
b) It implies the beloved’s beauty is everlasting and immune to change.
c) It connects the beloved to the cycles of nature.
d) It highlights the fleeting nature of summer.
Answer: b) It implies the beloved’s beauty is everlasting and immune to change.

26. What literary device is used in the line “Death shall not brag thou wander’st in his shade”?

a) Metaphor
b) Personification
c) Hyperbole
d) Simile
Answer: b) Personification

27. What is meant by “lines to time thou growest”?

a) The poet’s lines will ensure the subject’s immortality.
b) The beloved’s beauty will grow over time.
c) The poet acknowledges the passing of time.
d) The poem will fade with time.
Answer: a) The poet’s lines will ensure the subject’s immortality.

28. Which element of summer does the poet describe as unreliable?

a) The sunshine and warmth
b) The beauty of summer flowers
c) The length of summer’s duration
d) The rain and storms of summer
Answer: c) The length of summer’s duration

29. How does the poet immortalize his beloved?

a) By comparing them to eternal elements
b) By ensuring their beauty lives on in his poem
c) By claiming they are immune to death
d) By capturing their essence in nature’s cycles
Answer: b) By ensuring their beauty lives on in his poem

30. What is the meaning of the word “lease” in the line “summer’s lease hath all too short a date”?

a) Rent payment
b) Time allotted or duration
c) Agreement
d) Beauty of nature
Answer: b) Time allotted or duration

31. How is summer personified in the poem?

a) As a gentle season with perfect weather
b) As a fleeting, flawed entity with temporary beauty
c) As a powerful force that sustains life
d) As an eternal season of joy
Answer: b) As a fleeting, flawed entity with temporary beauty

32. What is the purpose of contrasting summer and the beloved?

a) To show that the beloved shares summer’s imperfection
b) To highlight the beloved’s superiority and permanence
c) To emphasize the beauty of nature over human beauty
d) To demonstrate the fleeting nature of both
Answer: b) To highlight the beloved’s superiority and permanence

33. Why does the poet reject summer as an adequate comparison for the beloved?

a) Summer’s beauty is inconsistent and temporary.
b) Summer’s warmth is too overpowering.
c) Summer’s beauty is more vibrant than the beloved’s.
d) Summer represents flaws in the beloved’s character.
Answer: a) Summer’s beauty is inconsistent and temporary.

34. What makes the sonnet a timeless tribute to love?

a) Its vivid description of summer
b) Its assertion that beauty and love can be immortalized through poetry
c) Its focus on nature’s eternal qualities
d) Its rejection of superficial comparisons
Answer: b) Its assertion that beauty and love can be immortalized through poetry

35. What is the effect of the concluding couplet in the poem?

a) It undermines the rest of the poem.
b) It reaffirms the poet’s belief in the power of poetry to immortalize beauty.
c) It focuses on summer’s enduring qualities.
d) It provides a contrasting view to the rest of the sonnet.
Answer: b) It reaffirms the poet’s belief in the power of poetry to immortalize beauty.

36. What type of sonnet is Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day??

a) Petrarchan sonnet
b) Spenserian sonnet
c) Shakespearean sonnet
d) Italian sonnet
Answer: c) Shakespearean sonnet

37. How does the poet view the passage of time in relation to his subject?

a) As a destructive force that diminishes beauty
b) As a natural progression that strengthens beauty
c) As irrelevant because of the immortalizing power of poetry
d) As a fleeting moment in life
Answer: c) As irrelevant because of the immortalizing power of poetry

38. What mood is evoked in the poem?

a) Somber and reflective
b) Joyful and celebratory
c) Nostalgic and melancholic
d) Melancholic but hopeful
Answer: b) Joyful and celebratory

39. Why is the poem considered a love sonnet?

a) It celebrates the perfection of summer.
b) It uses romantic language to idealize the beloved.
c) It speaks about unchanging nature.
d) It expresses love for nature’s beauty.
Answer: b) It uses romantic language to idealize the beloved.

40. How does Shakespeare address the concept of mortality in the sonnet?

a) By emphasizing that nature is immortal
b) By stating that death cannot claim the subject due to the poem’s eternal lines
c) By illustrating the decay of natural beauty
d) By suggesting that mortality is inevitable for all
Answer: b) By stating that death cannot claim the subject due to the poem’s eternal lines

These additional questions further test the understanding of themes, literary devices, and key lines in Shakespeare's sonnet.

 Long/ broad/ descriptive Suggestive Questions and Answers from 'Shall I Compare Thee' for West Bengal Board Class Xii students.

  Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?

 1) "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?...all too short a date"- Explain.

Ans:- These lines have been taken from " Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?" written by William Shakespeare. The poet expresses his deep faith in the immortality of his friend's beauty. 

 The poet emphasizes that his friend's lovliness is much superior to that of a summer's day. He is more even-tempered than the summer season. He is more attractive and impressive than it. Sometime rough winds violently shake the tiny buds of May. But the beauty of the poet's friend is enduring and everlasting. It never fades away and it does withstand the ravages of time. So the poet hesitates to compare his friend to a summer's day.

 2) "Some times too hot the eye of heaven shines...By chance or nature changing course untrimmed"- Why does the 'eye of heaven' mean here? Why does the poet use the word 'fair' twice? How does 'every fair' decline? 

Ans:-  These lines have been taken from 'Shall I Compare Thee' written by William Shakespeare. The 'eye of heaven' means 'the sun'. 

      Shakespear uses the word 'fair' twice to refer  to every beautiful object or nature and to suggest fairness as a whole.

       According to the poet, every beautiful thing of nature loses its beauty either by chance or by nature's changing course. Rough winds in summer destroy the buds which adorn every tree in May. Again, the gold complexion of the sun is dimmed when it goes behind the clouds. Every fair element of nature loses its beauty in course of time. No beauty can exist forever. It means that summer is short lived. 

3) " But thy eternal summer shall not fade... When in eternal lines to time thou growst"- Who is the poet? What is meant by 'thy eternal summer'? Whose eternal summer is referred to here? How does the poet suggest that 'the eternal summer' shall never end?

Ans:-  These lines have been taken from "Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?" written by William Shakespeare.

        The phrase 'eternal summer' means the immortality of the youth.

      The 'eternal summer' of the poet's friend who is 'the world's fresh ornament' is referred to here. 

     According to the poet, summer is undoubtedly beautiful, but it loses its beauty with the passages of time. The poet thinks that his friend is more lovely and moderate than the beauty of summer. The poet here boldly affirms that his friend is the embodiment of eternal beauty. Nothing can steal away his summer nor defile the sublimity that his friend is possessed of. His friend will remain beautiful for ever. Here the poet wants to immortalize his friend through his verse.