Read the excerpt from William Shakespeare’s…

English Questions

Read the excerpt from William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 93 and fill in the blanks in the paragraph. Whate’er thy thoughts or thy heart’s workings be, thy looks should nothing thence but sweetness tell. How like Eve’s apple doth thy beauty grow, if thy sweet virtue answer not thy show! The tone of the poem is (romantic, bitter, sarcastic). The poetic speaker is either praising or denouncing the lady addressed. He uses the (parallelism, simile, metaphor) of Eve’s apple, which symbolizes the (deception, sorrow) concealed in attractive things. The poet contrasts the lady’s beauty and her (virtue, symbolism) to show that her beauty does not reveal her inner (virtue, corruption).

Answer

The tone identified in the poem is romantic. The poetic speaker describes the captivating beauty of his beloved, implying that her face radiates nothing but charm. The answer to the second question is praising. The speaker is complimenting the woman rather than expressing criticism. In response to the third question, the appropriate answer is simile. The comparison made with Eve’s apple serves to illustrate a likeness between the apple and the woman’s beauty. It qualifies as a simile since it uses the phrase, “How like Eve’s apple…” The fourth response points to deception. The reference to Eve’s apple reveals the underlying deception present in attractive appearances. Lastly, the answer to the fifth question is virtue/corruption. The speaker juxtaposes his beloved’s outer beauty with her inner virtue to indicate that her outward appearance does not disclose her inner corruption.

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