Mcq questions and answers from the poem Shall I Compare Thee to A Summer's Day? by Shakespeare.
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.
Summary of the sonnet no. 130 by William Shakespeare.
In this sonnet, Shakespeare silently attacks all those sonneteers who falsely appreciate their lady love and want to show how beautiful they are. Shakespeare goes against the tradition and creates a new idea of theme for the sonnets.
If we want to talk about its rhyme, it is written in Shakespearean sonnet form which includes three quatrains and a concluding couplet. The poem is a mixture of satire and seriousness. Though in the three quatrains, the poet negatively praises her lady to oppose the other sonneteers, in the final couplet, he gives the complimentary twist and makes it a classic sonnet of all time.
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments..."-Explain.
In the opening of sonnet 116, Shakespeare alludes to the Marriage service in the Book of Common Prayers and he refers to the marriage ritual. In the Christian Marriage ritual, before the union of the bride and the bridegroom, the marriage -priest enquires of the congregation about the probable impediment which anyone in the assemblage and might have had.
The sonnet eulogizes the lofty attributes of true love. True love does not permit any sort of obstruction or obstacle in the attachment of two lovers. The poet emphasizes the immutability of love that nothing can shake or change. True love can never be dominated by any situation. Time moves very fast and changes different elements, but love remains constant and devoted. In fact, it persists and shines, despite the swift flow of time.
"And every fair from fair sometimes declines"-Explain.
The poet means the beauty of every beautiful person or object decreases with time. No beautiful thing has a permanent lease of life. It is the law of Nature. The enduring charms of everything are sure to decline someday or other. Nothing exists eternally.Time with its ravages and the power of destructibility annihilates everything. Through this line the poet here establishes the natural fact of the process of decay that every natural phenomenon is subject to. This change occurs because of an accidental ill-luck or through the natural process inherent in all things.
"But thy eternal summer shall not fade."-Explain
The 'eternal summer' of the poet's friend who is 'the world's fresh ornament' is referred to here.
Here 'eternal summer' means the youthful beauty which is superior to the charm of the seasonal summer. The beauty of the poet's friend is not subject to mutability that characterizes all earthly things. It defies the onslaughts of all-devouring time. It will never fade, because it will be given an eternal lease of life by poet's lines. The youth's summer is not 'eternal' in itself, but only in so far as it is caught and preserved in Shakespeare's verse. The poet's friend is the fairest of all. Nothing can steal away his summer nor defile the sublimity that his friend is possessed of. His beauty is to continue eternally.
"Bring forth men children only"- Give here the context and comment on the line.
Lady Macbeth wants to murder Duncan and she tells Macbeth that Duncan's two two guards besides being fed heavily, will be provided with so much wine that they will loose their consciousness in their celebration and will fall in deep sleep forgetting their duty. This will make the opportunity for Macbeth to kill the unguarded king, thereupon shifting the guilt upon these senseless guards who will be baffle victims of entire heinous incident. Macbeth is compelled to tell her to give birth to only male child her strong and brutal resolution.
Macbeth means to say that in her strong and cruel disposition she seems to loose her femine qualities, that is why, she can only give birth to male child. Macbeth's poetical imagination is very much genuine. And Lady Macbeth's strong personality and active mind are well-revealed here.
What little does Duncan confer upon Malcolm ? How does the conferment affect Macbeth?
Instrument of darkness- Explain.
"And often time, to win us to our harm. The instument of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray us
In deepest consequences."
Banquo knows the reality. So he warns Macbeth against danger of trusting the witches absoluyely. The word 'darkness' has a significant meaning. Apparently, it suggests that they are like the stormy, darkening weather. But implicitly it suggests that they transform the life of one from fair to foul means they help to makes one's life dangerous.
"Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?-Explain
After murdering Duncan, Macbeth has come out of his chamber , with his hand all bloody. He refuses to go again to leave the dagger there, rather stares at his blood-stained hands. His eyes are glued to his hands. The sights of the ghostly hands would, as it were, pull out his eyes from their sockets. He looks aghast anguished. He wanders wheather all the waters of the vast seas can never wash his hands clean again. On the contrary, the blood in his hand may turn to the seas red.
Macbeth feels afraid even to think of what he has done. His conscience begins to stir in him terribly. His eyes seem to be haunted with the bloody colour of his hand. In his oppressed mental state, he fears that the blood of his hand can never be washed out. With a sense of despair he feels that even the water of the vast green ocean over which the great Neptune, the sea-god, presides will no be enough to wash these stain of blood from his hand to make it clean once again. Even he is afraid that the blood on his hand will redden all the water to be found on the surface of the globe.
This line show that a sense of guilt is now weighing heavily upon Macbeth's mind. Indeed, he feels oppressed by this sense of guilt. His conscience rebukes him for what he has done. Once again we see Macbeth's power of exprwasing himself in a most vivid manner. This line thus shows the pictorial imagination of Macbeth. This line supposed to have been inspired by Seneca's lines in Phaedra:
"Not Neptune, grandshire grave will all his ocean folding flood, can purge and wash away/ This dunghill of foul strain."
But the superb poetry of these lines is of Shakespeare.
"Nought's had, all's spent.....Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy."- Explain
Duncan is murdered and Macbeth has become the king of Scotland to the fulfilment of their long cherished ambition. But she has realised that Macbeth is not really happy. Lady Macbeth gives out here that feeling of frustration with which her mind is obsessed, even after securing the crown of scotland for her husband. Actually, Lady Macbeth feels the futility of the deed they have done. She is no longer the resolute remorseless woman that we found before the murder. Here Lady Macbeth is stricken with remorse and sense of loneliness.
Lady Macbeth frankly admits that her husand,Macbeth and herself hace actually gained nothing by their act of murder. On the otherhand, they have lost everything their honour, mental peace and joy. She herself has fallen prey to deep melancholy after becoming the queen of Scottland, but her pride and her love for her husband prevent her from expressing it to Macbeth. They have, no doubt, obtained the object of their desire, but peace and happiness have desertex them forever. She realises that it is better to be the person who is killed than to be in joy mixed with fear . Lady Macbeth envies the dead Duncan who is free from anxiety and cares of frightened life.
These words clearly indicate Lady Macbeth's acute frustration and depression . She now prefers death instead of living a life full of worries and agonizing suspense. Lady Macbeth feels the vast difference between the poor prize and huge price. The change in Lady Macbeth is obvious and notably contrast with the change seen in Macbeth. The effect of a forced crime on her feminine nature is partly evident here. This is actually the beginning of her end. She is not, however, after all, devilish person.
Comment on Macbeth's reaction to his wife's death.
Then Macbeth reflects on the futility of life.He says that man is nothing but a fool and each day that is past is like a candle. Again, he shows that man is a miserable or unfortunate actor who walks proudly on the stage and expresses 'struts and frets'. Life is like a story told by an idiot or a lunatic full of sensational incidents and raging passions but having no meaning.
This shows Macbeth's complete indifference to life and his wife's death. After hearing this news, he philosophises on life. Macbeth is now so hardened as to be incapable of any feeling. Actually, his heart is benumbed. His sense of despair is well-revealed in his reaction to Lady Macbeth's death.
In what terms the character of Macbeth is highlighted?
The 'bloody' captain hails Macbeth by saying 'valour's minion' and Rosse praises him by 'Bellona's bridegroom'.
In the phrase, 'valour's minion', 'valour' means intrepidity, courage or bravery and 'minion' means favourite. Here, Macbeth is addressed as the darling of bravery . It lights up on the courageous nature of Macbeth.
In the phrase, 'Bellona's bridegroom', Bellona is the Roman goddess of war and Macbeth is considered to be the husband of Bellona, meaning that he is no way inferior in valour to the god of war. In paying a glowing tribute to Macbeth for his bravery, Rosse refers to him as a man newly married to the goddess of war. It also finely highlights the bravery and courage of Macbeth.
".....this dead butcher and his fiend like queen"- Who are thus described by whom and when ?
Here, 'the dead butcher' refers to Macbeth for his murderous, villanious and slaughterous nature, and the 'fiend like queen' alludes to Lady Macbeth who helps her husband to achieve the kingship of Scottland by murdering king.
After Macbeth's death at the hand of Macduff and eventually victory of Malcolm's force over Macbeth's, the nobleman of Scottland congregate under the leadership of Malcolm, the son Duncan and his rightous successor. In the statement of Malcolm where he announces the establishment of the new era of justice and virtue and the abolishment of the reign terror, he uses this above-mentioned line. But it is true that Shakespeare's play never represents Macbeth as a 'dead butcher' and nor his wife as a 'fiend'.
"New honours come upon him, like our strange garments"- Who says this to him and why?
Rosse and Angus, the two nobleman of Scottland give them the news of the happiness of Duncan in their achievement of victory.They also convey that the king has conferred on Macbeth the title of "Thane of Cawdor" as Macdownald is ordered to be exucuted. Then Banquo explains that Macbeth is absorbed in thought because 'new honours' come upon him suddenly, and he has to adjust himself to it. Banquo, in this metaphorical speech, suggests that the title "Thane of Cawdor" is like new garment, which does not fit the wearer at first, but it for sometimes becomes accustomed to it.
The Dress-imagery of this line is noteworthy.It is a recurrent image in Macbeth that indicates the theme of appearance and reality. This new title conferred upon Macbeth hints at the validity of the prediction of the witches.
"I bear a charmed life"- Who is the speaker?What was the 'charmed life' refer to? How is the claim proved false?
Here 'charmed life' refers to the life of Macbeth. Macbeth thinks that his life is protected by a magical power as none born of woman can do him any harm: "The power of man, for none of woman born/ Shall harm Macbeth."
But Macduff, to Macbeth's great horror and dismay, tells him to give up his faith in such a charm as Macduff is not born in a natural way. Infact, he was prematurely taken out of his mother's womb: "Macduff was from his mother's womb untimely rip'd." Thus Macbeth's all hopes go to doom. He has lost all hopes of survival. His faith shaken, he is too broken to rise to the challenge.He is no more invulnerable than any other man.
"But wherefore could not I pronounce"- What was the thing that Macbeth could not pronounce and why?
'Amen' is a holy word. Macbeth cannot accentuate it because his mind is sorely convulsed. He is in dire need of divine blessing but he become chocked. This is an astonishing revealation of his mind. He is remorseful and repentent for the heinous crime of regicide. He has understood his unpardonable blunder of committing such a gross injustice to the monarch. He is extremely repentent for his misdeed and he earnestly wants to expiate for it. But his soul is so burdened with sin and evil that he is unable to speak 'Amen'.
What are the prophecies of the witches in Macbeth?
Followings are the prophecies made by the witches to Macbeth:
First witch says: "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis."
Second witch says: "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor."
Third witch says: "All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter."
And followings are the predictions to Banquo from the part of the witches:
First witch says Banquo, you will be "Lesser than Macbeth, and greater."
Second witch says, you will be "Not so happy, yet much happier."
Third witch says: "Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none."
"Fair is foul, and foul is fair"- Explain.
This line reveals the very creed,the guiding principle of these abnormal and Obnoxious creature. The witches do not belong to the normal human world. Foul weather to human being is a thing of delight for them. The Supernatural elements maliciously meddle with human affairs and lead human being to disasters and ultimate death through sinful ways.
Shakespeare's main intention is to bring our attention immediately to the tragic tone of the drama: " In Macbeth", wrote Coleridge, "the poet's object was to raise the mind at once to the high tragic tone ......the true reason for the first appeared of the witches is to strike the keynote of the character of the whole drama." This line strikes the character of the witches whom Shakespeare has represented as " the instruments of darkness".They are "the lawless of human nature". They introduce us to a topsy-turvy world where values are perverted and reversed. The Macbeth's world is a strange one where "Good things of day begin to droop and drowse" and "night's black agents to their preys do rouse".
the line also sets the atmosphere of abnormal evil which dominates the play. The tempestuous soul, full of criminal thoughts and evil desire is the favourite choice for the witches. They are actually comparable to Satan in Paradise Lost who cries out:" Evil be thou my good." The statement of Macbeth in Act1Sc3 " So foul and fair a day I have not seen" suggests that there is an inner connection between the witches and Macbeth as the words 'fair' and 'foul' are re-echoed by Macbeth.
"Why should I play the Roman fool"-Who is the speaker? Explain the analogy.
When Macbeth is left to fight off Malcolm's troop by himself', he needs to make decision of whether or not he should stand his ground and protect his crown. Immediately he dismisses the idea of committing suicide by saying, "Why should I play the Roman fool" meaning why should I kill myself.
Actually, in ancient Roman times, Roman generals like Cato, Cassius, Anthony, Brutus would fall upon their sword when they were defeated in the battle. But Macbeth hates to play the part of a fool like those generals who committed suicide by their own sword. He firmly resolves that he should try to live as long as he sees living men and carry on his fight and wounded his enemies instead of killing himself.
This statement represents his arrogance and conceit. This line also illustrates his inherent courage and principle of not giving up till the very end.
"He is here in double trust."-explain
Before murdering Duncan, Macbeth thinks of the moral objections to the crime. King Duncan is staying at his house as a guest, and Macbeth has double responsibilities towards this guest.
First, Macbeth is Duncan's relative and Duncan's subject. This should be a strong reason to prevent Macbeth from murdering Duncan. secondly, Macbeth is Duncan's host, it is Macbeth's duty to defend Duncan against any possible murder and not to injure him with his own hand.
Macbrth's conflicting and complex state of mind is well-revealed in this line. This line shows Macbeth's conscience is still alive. This line also shows that Macbeth is not a seasoned trailor .The seeds of trason certainly excited his mind, but they began to sprout only as a consequence of the witches's prophecies. Macbeth's soliloquy also shows his introspective nature and his analytical mind.
