Sonnet 18 – “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date:

क्या मैं तुम्हारी तुलना एक ग्रीष्म दिवस से करूँ?
तुम उससे कहीं अधिक सुंदर और शांत हो।
मई की प्यारी कलियों को कठोर हवाएँ झकझोर देती हैं,
और गर्मी का मौसम बहुत ही कम समय तक रहता है।

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;

कभी-कभी आकाश की आँख (सूर्य) बहुत तेज़ चमकती है,
और अक्सर उसका सुनहरा रूप धूमिल हो जाता है।
हर सुंदरता कभी न कभी कम हो जाती है,
संयोग से या प्रकृति के बदलते नियमों से।

But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

पर तुम्हारी अनंत गर्मी कभी नहीं मिटेगी,
न ही तुम्हारी सुंदरता तुम्हारे पास से जाएगी।
मृत्यु भी यह नहीं कह पाएगी कि तुम उसकी छाया में भटक रहे हो,
क्योंकि तुम इन शाश्वत पंक्तियों में समय के साथ बढ़ते रहोगे।

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

जब तक मनुष्य सांस लेते रहेंगे और आँखें देखती रहेंगी,
तब तक यह कविता जीवित रहेगी — और तुम्हें जीवन देती रहेगी।

1. 1. Shakespeare says his mistress will live on forever in his “eternal lines.” What does this mean?
      A) People will read about her in his poems
      B) She will die and go to heaven
      C) She will fall out of line
      D) She will be remembered in songs
      Answer: A

   2. What is the rhyme scheme of Sonnet 18?
      A) ABBA CDDC EFFE GG
      B) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
      C) AABB CCDD EEFF GG
      D) ABAB BABA EFEF GG
      Answer: B

   3. What does the phrase “summer’s lease hath all too short a date” mean?
      A) Summer is too long
      B) Summer lasts only briefly
      C) Summer is always nice
      D) Summer is unpredictable
      Answer: B

   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
      C) Eternal youth
      D) A calm period
      Answer: B

   5. In Sonnet 18, how is “Death” personified in the line “Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade”?
      A) As a comforting friend
      B) As a boastful being
      C) As a silent observer
      D) As a kind angel
      Answer: B

   6. What is the “volta” (turn) in Sonnet 18?
      A) Line 3
      B) Line 5
      C) Line 9
      D) Line 13
      Answer: C

   7. In Sonnet 18, the poet asserts that
      A) The beloved’s beauty will fade like summer
      B) His poem will give immortality to the beloved
      C) Death eventually wins over all
      D) The seasons change too slowly
      Answer: B

   8. In Sonnet 18, the phrase “eye of heaven” most likely refers to
      A) The moon
      B) A star
      C) The sun
      D) The sky
      Answer: C

   9. To whom is Sonnet 18 most likely addressed?
      A) Shakespeare’s wife
      B) The Dark Lady
      C) The Fair Youth
      D) Queen Elizabeth I
      Answer: C

   10. How many lines are in a Shakespearean sonnet like Sonnet 18?
       A) 12
       B) 14
       C) 16
       D) 18
       Answer: B

2. Sonnet 130 – “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”

   My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun;
   Coral is far more red than her lips’ red;
   If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
   If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

   मेरी प्रेयसी की आँखें सूरज जैसी नहीं हैं,
   उसके होंठों से कहीं अधिक लाल कोरल होता है।
   यदि बर्फ सफेद है, तो फिर उसके स्तन भूरे क्यों हैं?
   यदि बाल तार होते हैं, तो उसके सिर पर काले तार उगते हैं।

   I have seen roses damask’d, red and white,
   But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
   And in some perfumes is there more delight
   Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.

   मैंने गुलाबों को देखा है — लाल और सफेद रंग के,
   पर उसके गालों में ऐसे गुलाब नहीं खिलते।
   कुछ इत्रों में उससे कहीं अधिक सुगंध होती है
   जो मेरी प्रेयसी की साँसों से आती है।

   I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
   That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
   I grant I never saw a goddess go;
   My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.

   मुझे उसकी आवाज़ सुनना अच्छा लगता है, पर मैं जानता हूँ
   कि संगीत कहीं अधिक मधुर होता है।
   मैंने कभी देवी को चलते नहीं देखा,
   मेरी प्रेयसी जब चलती है, तो ज़मीन पर ही चलती है।

   And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
   As any she belied with false compare.

   फिर भी, भगवान की कसम, मेरा प्रेम उतना ही दुर्लभ है
   जितना कोई भी प्रेम जिसे झूठी तुलना से सजाया गया हो।

3. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 begins with the line “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” What literary device is being used here?
   A) Metaphor
   B) Simile
   C) Irony
   D) Hyperbole
   Answer: C (It is ironic because instead of praising, he denies the conventional comparison.)

4. What is the rhyme scheme of Sonnet 130?
   A) ABBA CDDC EFFE GG
   B) ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
   C) AABB CCDD EEFF GG
   D) ABBA ABBA CDE CDE
   Answer: B (This is the standard Shakespearean (English) sonnet rhyme scheme.)

5. In the line “If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun,” the word “dun” means:
   A) Bright white
   B) Pale
   C) Dull gray-brown
   D) Glowing
   Answer: C

6. When Shakespeare says “My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground,” he implies that she is:
   A) Divine, like a goddess
   B) Floating, ethereal
   C) Human and grounded
   D) Rising above earthly bounds
   Answer: C

7. What is the tone of the poem Sonnet 130 (especially in its quatrains)?
   A) Solemn and reverent
   B) Satirical / ironic
   C) Tragic
   D) Hyper-romantic
   Answer: B

8. In the final couplet, “And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare / As any she belied with false compare,” what is the poet’s main assertion?
   A) His mistress is perfect in form and feature
   B) Despite her imperfections, he regards her as unique
   C) He regrets loving her
   D) He believes all comparisons in poetry are meaningless
   Answer: B

9. Which poetic convention is Sonnet 130 reacting against or subverting?
   A) Free verse poetry
   B) The Petrarchan ideal of exaggerated praise of the beloved
   C) Religious hymns
   D) Epic similes
   Answer: B

10. Where does the “volta” or “turn” (a shift in tone or argument) typically occur in Sonnet 130?
    A) Line 4
    B) Line 8
    C) Line 12
    D) Line 13
    Answer: D

11. Which one of these is not a claim the speaker makes in the poem?
    A) Her lips are red like coral
    B) Her breath sometimes “reeks” (is unpleasant)
    C) Her eyes are unlike the sun
    D) She walks on the ground (is mortal)
    Answer: A (He actually says coral is redder than her lips — meaning her lips are not as red as coral.)

12. What is the central message or theme of Sonnet 130?
    A) True love depends on physical perfection
    B) Poetry must always exaggerate beauty
    C) Real love sees through conventional flattery and embraces authenticity
    D) Beauty is superficial and meaningless
    Answer: C