Shakespeare's Sonnets 12, 60, & 73

According to the speaker in Sonnet 12 (“When I do count the clock that tells the time”), what is the one way in which human beings can defend themselves against the destructive nature of time?

• using beauty products

• behaving ethically

• planting gardens

• having children

In Sonnet 60 (“Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore”), what does the speaker hope will stand the test of time?

• his ship

• his verse

• his youth

• his courage

In Sonnet 73 (“That time of year thou mayst in me behold”), which time of year and time of day does the speaker describe? Choose two options.

• spring

• summer

• autumn

• dawn

• evening

If moving a load of bricks is referred to as toil, what kind of work must it be?

• rewarding work

• repetitive work

• difficult work

• simple work

In Sonnet 12, what connection does the speaker make between the change of seasons and the loved one’s beauty?

• As the seasons change, time passes, and we all age. With age, comes the loss of beauty.

• As we age, just as with the seasons, we get more beautiful.

• With age comes the loss of innocence and motivation.

• As the seasons changes, so too do our emotions: spring makes us happy, and winter makes us sad.

In Sonnet 60, to what does the speaker compare the passing of time?

• waves on a shore regularly replacing each other

• the hands moving around a clock face

• the falling of leaves from a tree in autumn

• the wrinkles on an old woman's face

In Sonnet 73, at what stage of life is the speaker of this poem?

• the prime of his youth

• recently married

• middle age

• old and very near death

In Sonnet 73, what advice does the speaker give in the last two lines?

• Beauty is subjective; though we get old, we can still be beautiful.

• Listen to your elders: we know more than you think we do about life and love.

• Be careful with my love because it can burn you like fire.

• Cherish me all the more because I won't be around forever.

In Sonnet 12 (“When I do count the clock that tells the time”), what do the images of passing time make the speaker wonder about the person he addresses?

• Will that person’s beauty fade?

• Will that person’s fame endure?

• Will that person remember him?

• Will that person always love him?

According to the speaker in Sonnet 73 (“That time of year thou mayst in me behold”), how will his aging affect the person he addresses?

• It will make that person grieve for him.

• It will make that person love him more.

• It will make that person forget about him.

• It will make that person understand him better.