WB Board Class XII English Notes/Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”?

WB Class XII English Notes/Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day Questions and Answers MCQ

1. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”?- here the speaker is –

a. Gieve Patel, b. John Keats, c. William Shakespeare, d. Habib Tanvir.

2. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” – here ‘thee’ is a/an

a. article, b. pronoun, c. preposition , d. interjection

      3. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”?- is written by-

a. Gieve Patel, b. William Shakespeare, c. John Keats, d. Arthur Rimbaud

      4. “Shall I compare thee the to a summer’s day”?is a/an-

a. elegy, b. sonnet, c. lyrical ballad, d. dramatic monologue.

      5. Shakespeare’s sonnet 18 starts with a/an

a. Question, b. exclamation c. statement, d. positive sentence.

6.  “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”?-Here ‘thee’ means

a. You, b. I, c. the winter, d. we

        7.   The poetic form of ‘you’ in the nominative case is –

a. thee, b. thou, c. your. d. our

        8. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”?-Here ‘summer’s day’ refers to-

a. Misty and murky  day of winter, b. bright sunny day during summer, c. stormy winds of the rainy season, d. the sultry atmosphere of summer.

        9.  “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”?- Here ‘a summer’s day’ is an example of –

a. Similie, b. metaphor, c. metonymy, d. one of these.

      10. “Thou art more lovely…” – Here ‘art’ means-

a. sculpture, b. painting, c. are. d. a pencil sketch.

      11. Summer days can be excessively hot, but the poet’s friend is –

a. hotter than those days, b. moderate and tempered in character, c. like rough winds , d. as cool as a snowy evening.

     12. The poet’s friend is ‘more lovely and more temperate’ than-

a. a wintry morning, b. a summer’s day, c. a rainy day, d. a moonlit night.

     13. “Rough winds to shake”-

a. buds of May, b. buds of July, c. flowers of winter, d. roses of sunny days,

       14. “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May”- here the expression ‘rough winds’ refers to –

a. a calm and quiet atmosphere, b. stormy winds, c. sunny days, d. strong and rude            summer days.

       15. ‘The darling buds of May’ refers to-

a. small sweet buds which have just come out, b. strong and rude days of spring, c. stormy days of summer, d. cool, snomy days of winter.

16., In Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare, a sign of spring is referred to by-

a. May, b. June,         c. July, d. August.

17. Sonnet 18 is addressed to –

a. a young man, b. queen Elizabeth, c. a young woman, d. Shakespeare’s wife.

18. The young person in sonnet 18 will live-

a. as long as people read this sonnet, b. as long as men can breathe,

 c. as long as eyes can see,               d. as long as cars can hear.

       19. The  poet’s friend is compared to –

  a. Summer’s day b. spring day c.  summer season d. summers’ night

20. ‘The eye of heaven’ is –

a. the sun, b. the moon, c. the poet’s friend, d. a star.

21. “….his golden complexion “. – Here ‘his’ refers to-

a. the poem’s friend, b. the poet’s wife, c. the sun, d. the poet himself.

22. William Shakespeare, in his sonnet 18, states that ‘fair’-

a. a subject to change, b. is the opposite of unfair, c. can only diminish marginally, d. is never subject to change.

23. Death has no control over-

a. the young person, b. the poet , c. beauty, d. poetry.

24. “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May”- Here ‘ay’ is the sign of –

      a. spring b. autumn c. summer d. dewy season

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day Short question Answer (SAQ),WBCHSE class 12 English Notes PDF

1. What does Shakespeare compare his friend to ?

Shakespeare compared his friend  to a summer’s day.

2. What shakes the darling buds of May ?

Rough winds shake the darling buds of May.

3. What will make the beauty of the poet’s friend eternal ?

This poem will make the beauty of the poet’s  friend eternal.

4. What does ‘eye of heaven’  refer to ?

The expression ‘eye of heaven’ refers to the sun.

5. How is the ‘gold complexion’ of the sun dimmed ?

The gold complexion of the sun is dimmed by the clouds.

6. ‘And summer’s lease hath all to short a date’ – What is meant by ‘summer’s lease’?

The expression ‘summer’s lease’ means the duration of the summer. 

7. What shall death not brag of in Shakespeare’s Sonnet No. 18 ?

Death shall not brag about taking the poet’s friend into his  shade. 

8. ‘And often is his gold complexion dimmed’- whose complexion is referred to here ?

Here the gold complexion of the sun is referred to.

9. Whom is sonnet No 18 addressed to ?

Sonnet No 18 is addressed to the poet’s friend .

10. What  season is mentioned in sonnet No. 18 ?

The season of summer  is mentioned in sonnet No. 18. 

11. What makes ‘every fair from fair’ decline?

Chance or the changing course of nature makes ‘very fair from fair’ decline.

12. Why does the poet begin the poem

 with a question ?

The poet starts with a question to convince the reader that the beauty of his friend  is beyond comparison.

13. Mention two shortcomings of summer. 

Summer is short and sometimes it is very hot.

14. How long is summer’s duration according to the speaker ?

According to the speaker, summer’s duration  is very short.

15. How long will the poet’s friend live ?

The poet’s friend  will live  in the eternal lines of the sonnet.

16. How long will the poet’s friend live ?

The poet’s friend will live as long as men can breathe or eyes can see and as long as this poem will be read.

17. Which shall never fade ?

The beauty of the poet’s friend shall never fade. 

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day long question Answer,WBCHSE class 12 English Notes PDF

Descriptive Type

1. How does Shakespeare compare  the beauty of his friend to that of a summer’s day in Sonnet 18?

Or, How does Shakespeare immortalize his friend’s beauty ?
Or, “Whall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
- Who is compared to what and how ?
Or, what does the poet compare his young friend to ? Identify at least three qualities that make the person superior to the simile ?                                          

Ans.        The opening line of the sonnet immediately makes a comparison between the poet’s friend and a bright and beautiful summer’s day. He says that the summer  day has its extremes of too much heat or being overcast. But the loveliness of  the friend will remain constant. The beauty of the nature is a summer’s day is often spoiled by the rough winds. But his friend’s beauty has no such flaw. The natural changes do not allow the summer to stay long. But the beauty of the poet’s friend shall not fade because his beauty will remain alive through the lines of this sonnet. As long as the readers will read this sonnet, his beauty will stay in the mind of the readers and in this way it will be an eternal beauty. 

2. “…And this gives life to thee’ –What does ‘this’ refer to ?Who is referred to by ‘thee’?How does ‘this’ give life ?

Ans.      “This’ refers to the poem  written by the poet , William Shakespeare.

‘Thee’  refers to the poet’s friend .

In this mortal world  every object is vulnerable to decay and loss. The inevitable  ravage of time devours all elements of nature. So, the beauty can never be preserved unless it is depicted in lines of poetry. The poet feels inspired to think that his verse possesses the power to eternalize his friend’s beauty. As long as the human race lives, this very sonnet written in praise of his friend will remain to celebrate his beauty. Thus  the friend’s beauty will be eternalized and he will ever live and shine through his poetry.

3. Write  significance of the title of “Shall I Compare Thee to a summer’s Day ?”

Ans.  While composing, Shakespeare has not title  any of his sonnets. They were arranged in numerical order. But while reading, the first line of his each sonnet is considered as   the title of that particular sonnet . 

The sonnet no. 18 starts with a rhetorical  interrogation. The poet thinks  he should not compare his friend’s beauty to the summer season because his friend’s  beauty is more impressive and restrained than that of summer. All the fair elements in the world  are subjected to decay.But time and Death can not touch the beauty of youth. Because he believes in eternity.  As long as  the readers will read  this sonnet, his friend gets life and will forever in this way. The central theme of comparison is clearly expressed in the  title itself. So, the title is the significant one. 

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day,Textual Grammar Class XII WBCHSE 

Do as directed :

1. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day ? ( Make it complex)

2. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May.(Make it complex)

3. And often is his gold complexion dimmed. (Make it complex)

4. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines. (Make it complex)

5. Summer’s lease hath all too short a date . (Make it complex)

6. But thy eternal summer shall not fade. (Make it complex)

7. The eternal summer  shall not fade. 

8. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? (Split into two simple sentences)

9. Thou are more lovely and more temperate  . (Split into two simple sentences)

10. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines. (Split into two simple sentences)

11. Thy eternal summer shall not fade. (Split into two simple sentences)

12. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day ? ( Change the voice)

13. Often is his gold complexion  dimmed. ( Change the voice)

14. Nor  shall death brag thou. ( Change the voice)

15. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of may. ( Change the voice)

16. Thou art more lovely and more temperate than summer. ( Use positive degree)

17. Rough winds does shake the darling buds of May.(Correct the error)

18. Thou are more loveliest and more temperate. (Correct the error)

19. But thy eternal summer shall not fade. (affirmative)

20. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day ?(Make it assertive sentence)