WorksheetsShakespeare's Sonnets 12, 60, & 73
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 8mins
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.
In Sonnet 12 (“When I do count the clock that tells the time”), what idea does the speaker introduce in the opening quatrain and develop in the next quatrain?
Love will endure.
Time marches on.
Beauty is only skin deep.
Nature is the best teacher.
Which of the following meanings of prime is used in this sentence?
The garden was lovely two weeks ago, but now it is past its prime.
first in rank, value or quality; excellent
the earliest part of something; the beginning
the best, most vigorous, or most fully mature stage of something
of a number that can be divided evenly by no number except itself and
the number one
Which statement most accurately describes the word choices in this line?
The surf brushed the shore like a zealous housemaid’s broom.
Personification attributes human qualities to a broom.
A simile compares the motion of waves to sweeping a house.
A metaphor compares housecleaning to the passage of time.
A simile compares a surfer at the beach to a servant cleaning a home.
Which statement most accurately describes the word choices in these two lines?
My grandfather was ninety-six
When Death carelessly mowed him down.
A metaphor compares the grandfather to a tree.
Personification treats death as if it were a human being.
Sensory images help capture the feelings of the grandfather in old age.
A simile compares the grandfather’s death to the destruction of a lawn or
garden.
Which statement most accurately describes the word choices in these four lines?
The autumn leaves
Rustle from the trees:
First gold, then red,
Then brown, then dead.
Images appealing to the senses of sight and sound describe the autumn
leaves.
Images appealing to the senses of sight and touch describe the leafless
trees.
A literal description of autumn leaves captures their dull appearance.
A figurative description of autumn leaves conveys the speaker’s joy.
